Trump to make state visit UK in September despite King’s concerns
US President Donald Trump is set to make a full state visit to the UK in September in a further sign of Prime Minister Starmer’s efforts to bring the two countries closer together.
But King Charles preferred an initial informal visit that would represent a less eventful trip amid threats made to Canada’s sovereignty, according to The Times.
Starmer instead brought forward a full-state visit which will involve a formal dinner amid much fanfare and pageantry.
The decision was reportedly made in part to play to Trump’s interests in the royal family, with the president making clear he wanted a full visit to capitalise on the sense of occasion.
Buckingham Palace has previously raised concerns about Trump’s insistence on turning Canada into the “51st state” of the US, reports said, but the King is now believed to have signed off on the state visit.
A full state visit was expected to be made later in Trump’s presidency despite Starmer’s invitation letter presented in the White House earlier this year wooing the president and other officials.
The King made a remark about the importance of Canada’s sovereignty and said it remained a “strong and free” country during a visit in late May where he met with Prime Minister Mark Carney, who previously served as Governor of the Bank of England.
His speech in Canada’s parliament was widely seen as imparting a message to Trump, though Carney has suggested he no longer poses a threat to Canada.
Trump is separately set to visit his Turnberry golf resort in Scotland as soon as next month.
Trump’s past clashes
The president’s visit to the UK will come months after a trade deal was secured to lower tariffs faced by British exporters, with Trump and Starmer signing the agreement in Canada last week.
Aerospace manufacturers will not face tariffs, benefitting the likes of Rolls Royce, while a certain quota of car exports will face a ten per cent tariff.
The UK and the US did not slash all steel tariffs but exporters face half the tax rate set on all other countries.
Trump’s last visit to London in 2018 and 2019 drew the ire of Mayor Sadiq Khan and several protests.
Khan then said the UK should not have had the “red carpet… rolled out” during the visit. At least £18m was spent on security during Trump’s visit in 2018.
Treasury and Bank officials will be eagerly monitoring Trump’s next move on trade policy as the deadline for a 90-day reprieve from “baseline” ten per cent universal tariffs is set to come to an end next month.