US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump and his wife Melania will pay state visit to the UK after accepting an invitation from Britain’s queen, Buckingham Palace has confirmed.
The visit will take place from 3-5 June of this year ahead of Trump’s expected attendance at commentions for the 75th anniversary of D-Day in France.
Trump paid a four-day visit to Britain last year that included tea with Queen Elizabeth II, but the visit was not a state visit.
A state visit includes more ceremonial events, such as a state banquet described by Buckingham Palace as “a very grand formal occasion” held in the palace ballroom.
The monarch would also make a speech at such an occasion.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May controversially offered Trump a state visit when she was the first foreign leader to visit him shortly after entering the White House.
It prompted a petition signed by over two million people seeking that the invitation be withdrawn.
Large protests greeted Trump’s last visit to the UK and more are to be expected during the upcoming visit in six week’s time.
Asked whether a trip to Ireland is expected as part of Trump’s visit to Europe, an Irish government spokesperson has said there is “nothing to confirm right now” in regards to the potential for this.
In August last year, the White House surprised the Irish government by announcing that Trump would be visiting Ireland in November 2018 as part of a European trip.
This planned trip was cancelled a fortnight later “for scheduling reasons”.
In 2015, the government promised to open the first supervised drug injecting centre in Ireland within two years. In the latest episode of The Explainer podcast, Sinead O’Carroll, Cormac Fitzgerald and Christine Bohan delve into why this hasn’t happened yet – and whether it ever will.
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