Pomp but no public engagements in London for Trump’s UK state visit
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Mr Trump and his wife Melania will pay a flying visit to Britain from Sept 16 to 18.
PHOTO: EPA
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- Donald Trump will make a UK state visit from Sept 16-18, with no public events in London due to prior protests.
- The visit includes royal welcomes from Charles, Camilla, William and Catherine, a Windsor Castle banquet, and military displays.
- Trump will meet Keir Starmer at Chequers for political talks, while protests in London are already being planned.
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LONDON – US President Donald Trump’s unprecedented second British state visit next week will involve a state banquet hosted by King Charles III and a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Buckingham Palace said on Sept 10.
But the flying visit, with Mr Trump due to land in Britain on the evening of Sept 16 and leave on Sept 18, includes no public engagements in London, where police held back thousands of protesters during the US leader’s first state visit in 2019.
Mr Trump and his wife Melania will be greeted with a heavy dose of royal pomp on Sept 17 when they are first welcomed by heir-to-the-throne Prince William and his wife Catherine.
They will then be formally welcomed by head of state Charles and his wife Camilla, before all three couples head to Windsor Castle.
The Trumps will be treated to a royal carriage procession, a Beating Retreat ceremony and military jet fly-past during the day, capped by a state banquet at which the monarch and the President will give speeches.
Mr Trump will be invited to inspect the guard of honour, and will also make a private visit to the grave of Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September 2022, and who met Mr Trump during his first term.
The showmanship of the state visit began in the White House in February, when Mr Starmer brandished a signed letter from King Charles inviting Mr Trump to become the first leader in history to undertake a second state visit to Britain.
In front of the TV cameras a beaming US President read the invitation, said it would be an “honour” to accept, and declared the King “a beautiful man, a wonderful man”.
Sept 18 will be reserved for all things politics, with the Trumps heading to the British leader’s Chequers country retreat, where they will meet Mr Starmer and his wife Victoria.
Mr Starmer, who has largely managed to remain on Mr Trump’s good side during the latter’s second term, will have a bilateral meeting with the President followed by a business reception.
The dates of the visit were initially announced for Sept 17 to 19, before being cut back by a day.
It comes just two months after King Charles, who is undergoing cancer treatment, welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte
It will also be Mr Trump’s second visit to Britain since his return to office in January, following a visit in July to his family’s luxury golf courses
The Stop Trump Coalition is already planning a large “Trump Not Welcome” demonstration in London on Sept 17. AFP
