President Donald Trump is to travel to the U.K. on a state visit this June, Buckingham Palace confirmed on Tuesday.
Trump will travel to the U.K. with the First Lady for three days from June 3 to 5, in what will be their second visit since Trump’s Presidency began. Their first visit, in July 2018, was repeatedly delayed and finally downgraded from a state visit to a “working visit” after lawmakers threatened to walk out of any address he made to parliament and protesters threatened to disrupt any official activities.
It still remains to be confirmed whether this time Trump will engage in the traditional activities of a U.K. state visit, such as being taken to Buckingham Palace in a horse-drawn carriage, that he missed out on the first time around.
It is also not guaranteed that he will address the U.K. Parliament, where he has many detractors. “An address by a foreign leader to both Houses of Parliament is not an automatic right; it is an earned honor,” John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons said in 2017. “I would not wish to issue an invitation to President Trump.”
Trump’s visit in 2018 was met by large crowds of protesters in the streets of London and other cities around the U.K., as well as at his golf course in Scotland. The disturbance was so heavy that many analysts speculated Trump chose to spend as little time in the capital as possible. He did, however, meet the Queen and British Prime Minister Theresa May.
A White House spokesperson said: “This state visit will reaffirm the steadfast and special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom. In addition to meeting the Queen, the president will participate in a bilateral meeting with prime minister Theresa May.”
May’s office confirmed on Tuesday that Trump’s visit would include commemorations marking the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the day in 1944 when the allied forces, including U.S. and U.K. soldiers, landed on French beaches to begin the liberation of Europe from Nazi Germany.
Trump will attend a military parade in the southern port city of Portsmouth to celebrate the anniversary, involving a flypast of at least 26 RAF warplanes.
“The U.K. and United States have a deep and enduring partnership that is rooted in our common history and shared interests,” May said. “The State Visit is an opportunity to strengthen our already close relationship in areas such as trade, investment, security and defense, and to discuss how we can build on these ties in the years ahead.”
