Donald Trump will make a second state visit to the UK this year but the diary complexities of King Charles and the US president mean the two are unable to meet informally over the summer, it is understood.
The hand regiaa hand-signed formal invitation from the king, was hand-delivered to the White House last week by British representatives from the Washington embassy.
Charles had suggested in a letter handed to Trump by the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, in the Oval Office in February that they might meet at Balmoral or Dumfries House in Scotland first before the much grander state visit.
But it is understood due to diary complexities this is not possible over the course of the summer months and so formal planning for the state visit has begun.
A Buckingham Palace aide said: “His Majesty has known President Trump for many years and looks forward to hosting him and the first lady later this year.”
Charles will be heading to Scotland for his annual summer break, while Trump is expected to visit his new second golf course in Aberdeenshire when it opens this summer. It is said that the logistical reasons as to why the private meeting cannot precede the state visit are understood and appreciated by all parties.
Dates for the state visit will be announced in due course, though it is thought it will most likely be in September.
The Times reported that Starmer went against the wishes of Charles by bringing Trump’s state visit forward despite the monarch’s concerns over threats to Canada. It reported that the prime minister had gone against the original proposal for an earlier informal visit and expedited a full “bells and whistles” visit in an attempt to capitalise on the president’s fascination with the royal family.
The newspaper said Buckingham Palace had been hoping for a more leisurely approach while building towards the state visit, amid concern over Trump’s threat to make Canada the US’s 51st state.
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Trump paid a first state visit to the UK in 2019 when he was hosted by Queen Elizabeth II. Precedent for second-term presidents who have already made a state visit is usually tea or lunch with the monarch at Windsor Castle, as was the case for George W Bush and Barack Obama.
But Trump is being treated with an unprecedented second state visit for a US president.
