WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Donald Trump accepted an invitation from King Charles on Thursday to visit Britain, making the U.S. president the first elected political leader in modern times to be hosted for two state visits by a British monarch.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer handed Trump a letter from Charles in front of reporters at the White House ahead of formal meetings expected to discuss Ukraine and global security as well as bilateral issues.
Trump immediately opened and read the letter, jokingly checking that it bore the King’s signature, which he then described as “beautiful” and held up for the cameras to see.
“This is really special. This has never happened before. This is unprecedented,” Starmer told Trump, before gently pressing the president for an answer to the invitation.
“The answer is yes,” Trump responded. He told Starmer he would attend with first lady Melania Trump. “We look forward to being there and honoring the king … Your country is a fantastic country, and it’ll be our honor to be there.”
No date for the visit was announced.
Still images of Trump holding up the letter showed Charles had ended it with the words: “In doing so, working together, I know we will further enhance the special relationship between our two countries, of which we are both so proud.”
SECOND VISIT
The late Queen Elizabeth welcomed Trump for a three-day state visit in June 2019 during his first term in office, during which he attended an opulent state banquet and a private lunch with the sovereign, as well as having tea with Charles, who was then heir.
That visit already put Trump in a select group of U.S. presidents, as only Barack Obama and George W. Bush were afforded official state visits to Britain during Elizabeth’s record 70 years on the throne.
It would also turn out to be the last of the more than 110 she hosted during her reign before her death in September 2022.
The visit was not the only occasion when Trump met Elizabeth. He was also invited to tea at Windsor Castle during a trip to Britain in 2018, when he was widely seen to have broken royal protocol by failing to bow to the queen and then walking in front of her as they inspected a military guard.
Both his visits to Britain also attracted large protests, with his 2018 trip costing police more than 14 million pounds as 10,000 officers were deployed from all over Britain.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason and Elizabeth Piper in Washington, Michael Holden and Sachin Ravikumar in London; Writing by Sam Tabahriti and William James; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
