President Donald Trump ‘set for UK state visit for D-Day 75th anniversary’

White House officials and their British counterparts are said to be in negotiations over the visit, which is set to take place in June. 

President Trump is set to make a trip to France in June to commemorate the country’s liberation 75 years ago and plans are underway for him to also visit the UK during the same month. 

The visit would include an official banquet at Buckingham Palace and a carriage procession down the Mall, the Sunday Times reports. 

Portsmouth is set to be the ‘focal point’ of the D-Day anniversary celebrations in the UK this year, so news of President Trump’s visit to our country raises the possibility that he could come to the city as part of his trip if he is set to take part in commemorations of the Normandy Landings. 

According to the Times, the US President’s trip will be announced in April. 

‘Logistically, it would make sense if the president attends a state visit [in the UK] in June because he’s planning to be in France for the D-Day anniversary,’ a source told The Sunday Times.

It is understood that the Palace is aware of the talks, and the Queen would have to give approval for the trip to be an official state visit and issue a formal invite to the American leader. 

President Trump made a ‘working visit' to Britain in 2018, after an invitation for a state visit was downgraded following outcry and a petition which was signed by more than 1.8 million people. 

However according to the report he is set to get his state visit to the UK later this year. 

What is a state visit? 

The i reports that for a state visit, the Queen would act as the host.

The visits usually consist of the royal family greeting the guest with a ceremonial welcome on Horse Guards Parade before travelling to Buckingham Palace in a carriage procession.

There is also a very grand and formal state banquet.