Prime Minister Keir Starmer Delivered Invitation in February
No Precedent for Foreign Leaders’ State Visits
Aimed at Strengthening US-UK Relations
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on the 17th (local time) that he has been invited by King Charles III of the United Kingdom and plans to visit the UK this coming September.
According to CNN and BBC, President Trump told reporters at the White House that day, "It is an honor to be a friend of Charles (the King)," adding, "I have great respect for King Charles and his family, as well as William (the Prince of Wales). They invited me in September."
This was in response to when UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited the White House in February and delivered a letter from King Charles III containing an invitation for a state visit. President Trump accepted the invitation and said he would visit the UK soon.
Typically, the UK does not offer state visit invitations to foreign leaders who have been re-elected. President Trump previously made a state visit to the UK in 2019 during his first term, upon invitation from Queen Elizabeth II. It is unprecedented for the British monarch to invite President Trump for a state visit more than once. This is interpreted as an effort to strengthen US-UK relations and not neglect the Atlantic alliance, which has loosened since President Trump's re-election.
BBC introduced President Trump's ties to the UK, noting that his mother was born and raised on the Isle of Lewis in the Hebrides, Scotland, and that he plans to open a golf course named after his mother in Aberdeenshire this year.
Regarding President Trump's visit to the UK, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) evaluated that "London hopes this will strengthen the Atlantic relationship."
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