Donald Trump has accepted an invitation from King Charles III for a second state visit to the UK, Buckingham Palace has confirmed.
He and former First Lady Melania Trump will be hosted at Windsor Castle from 17 to 19 September, as Buckingham Palace remains under renovation. His first state visit was in 2019, hosted by Queen Elizabeth II.
State visits for second-term presidents are rare, typically limited to informal meetings over tea or lunch. However, Trump’s visit will include a ceremonial welcome and a state banquet at Windsor’s St George’s Hall, with senior royals including the Prince and Princess of Wales expected to attend.
In February, Prime Minister Keir Starmer personally delivered the King’s invitation to Trump at the White House, which Trump described as a “great, great honour.” The visit follows the King’s symbolic trip to Canada amid ongoing tensions over US tariffs — seen as a gesture of support for Ottawa.
Trump, a vocal monarchist, has long praised the Royal Family and is expected to visit Scotland later this month to open a new golf course. Starmer is also set to meet Trump informally during the visit, as the UK looks to strengthen ties and influence the former president on key trade and diplomatic issues.
Trump’s previous UK visits have not been without controversy. In July 2018, he met Queen Elizabeth II for tea at Windsor Castle, drawing criticism for breaking royal protocol by walking in front of the Queen during a ceremonial inspection. That trip was not a formal state visit.
A year later, in June 2019, Trump and the First Lady were hosted at Buckingham Palace for his official state visit. He praised the Queen as a “great, great woman” who embodied “dignity, duty, and patriotism.” However, both visits were met with large-scale protests across London.
Tensions were especially high during the 2019 visit following a public spat between Trump and London Mayor Sadiq Khan. Trump branded Khan a “stone cold loser” on social media, while Khan’s spokesperson accused Trump of promoting far-right values and warned of his global influence.
Further controversy arose when neither London Mayor Sadiq Khan nor then Home Secretary Sajid Javid were invited to the state banquet held for President Trump, prompting speculation about deliberate exclusion. At the time, Javid described his omission as “odd.” Previously, he criticised Trump in 2017 for sharing tweets from the far-right group Britain First.
This time, Trump’s visit is expected to avoid large public events due to heightened security, much like in 2019 when he was flown between venues and there was no procession along the Mall.
“No parliament speech, just ‘a good time’”
Donald Trump has said he does not want parliament recalled during his state visit to the UK, praising Prime Minister Keir Starmer for “straightening out” what he called a “sloppy” Brexit.
In a rare BBC interview, the former president said he lowered tariffs specifically for the UK because of the special relationship, calling Britain “a true ally” and adding: “I think they’d come to our aid in a war — I’m not sure others would.”
While Reform UK’s Nigel Farage urged a parliamentary address, Trump declined: “Let them enjoy their break. I want to have a good time and pay respect to King Charles — a great gentleman.”
A longtime supporter of Brexit, Trump said its potential had yet to be fulfilled but credited Starmer with making progress: “I really like the prime minister, even though he’s a liberal. He did a good trade deal with us.”
Trump also claimed world leaders had gained new respect for him now that he had “won the presidency twice,” saying: “It’s not an easy crowd to break into — these are smart people heading successful countries.”
Asked if world leaders were too deferential, Donald Trump said, “I think they’re just trying to be nice.”
On Russia, he said he was “disappointed, but not done” with Vladimir Putin following a NATO deal to arm Ukraine. “We had a deal done four times, then he attacks a nursing home in Kyiv — what the hell was that about?” he said. Asked if he trusted Putin, Trump replied: “I trust almost nobody.”
Trump, who once called NATO “obsolete,” now says it’s “becoming the opposite of that.” He criticised the US bearing most of the cost but noted: “Now they’re paying their own bills.”
He said he supported NATO’s collective defence principle, but questioned whether all members would back the US in a conflict. “I believe the UK would fight with us. The relationship is a really good one.”
