Buckingham Palace confirms Trump state visit invitation

Donald Trump will make a full state visit to the UK later this year after King Charles and the US presidents schedules meant they would be unable to meet informally over the summer, it is understood.

Buckingham Palace confirmed an invitation signed by the King, called the "Manu Regia", was taken to the White House by representatives from the British Embassy in Washington last week.

The dates of Trumps visit are yet to be confirmed but September is said to be the most likely.

It is also understood that there will not be a private meeting between Trump and King Charles this summer before the state visit.

The scheduling issues come despite the King going to Scotland for his summer break each year, and Trump being expected to visit his new golf course in Aberdeenshire when it opens this summer.

"His Majesty has known President Trump for many years and looks forward to hosting him and the First Lady later this year," a Buckingham Palace aide told the BBC.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner told Parliament on Wednesday: "We are really pleased the US president is coming for a second state visit."

Trump was hosted by the late Queen Elizabeth II during his previous three-day state visit in 2019, which took place during his first term in office.

Formal planning for the second official state visit has now begun.

In February during a visit to the White House, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer handed Trump a letter from the King.

Traditionally, second-term US presidents are not offered a state visit and have instead been invited for tea or lunch with the monarch at Windsor Castle.

King Charles letter proposed a meeting to discuss details of the state visit at either Dumfries House or Balmoral, both in Scotland, a country to which Trump has connections.

Speaking in April, Trump said: "Theyre going to do a second, as you know, a second fest… thats what it is: a fest, and its beautiful, and its the first time its ever happened to one person.

"And the reason is we have two separate terms, and its an honour… Im a friend of Charles, I have great respect for King Charles and the family, William, we have really just a great respect for the family.

"And I think theyre setting a date for September."

The Times reported that Buckingham Palace raised concerns about Trumps "threats to Canada, seeing it as a reason not to rush into a state visit".

According to the newspaper, a senior source said that a senior Palace aide told government officials that the King did not want to give Trump a state visit while the US president was "impugning his sovereignty" over Canada.

It added that senior government sources said the King wished to have a state visit at a later date.

The prime ministers spokesman was asked whether Starmer overruled the King in bringing Trumps visit forward. The spokesman said: "That is untrue."