PresidentDonald Trumpand First LadyMelania Trumphave arrived for theirfirst state visit to the U.K.
ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty
Prince Charles and President Donald Trump.Jeff J Mitchell/Getty
First Lady Melania Trump, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Charles and President Donald Trump.MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty
President Donald Trump and Queen Elizabeth.Victoria Jones - WPA Pool/Getty
Last summer, London prepared for some100,000 protestorsto assemble as Trump made a working visit to the U.K.
This year the city is ready foranother large demonstration of Trump criticsas the president makes his first state visit to the U.K.
Protestors during President Donald Trump’s U.K. state visit this week.James Veysey/REX/Shutterstock
While en route Monday morning to London, Trump mocked theLondon mayoras a “stone cold loser” only a few hours after againinsisting he had not said anything “bad”aboutMeghan Markle.
First Lady Melania Trump, Queen Elizabeth and President Donald Trump.ANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty
After briefly stepping inside the palace, Trump returned to the Buckingham Palace gardens to receive a ceremonial welcome where a band played the national anthems, then inspected the Guard of Honour alongsidePrince Charles. Royal gun salutes were also fired in Green Park and at the Tower of London.
President Donald Trump inspects the honor guard during his ceremonial welcome at Buckingham Palace on Monday.MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty
Trump’s daughter,Ivanka Trump, and her husband, Jared Kushner, watched from a palace balcony.
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty
Ivanka Trump looks out a Buckingham Palace window.Chris Jackson/Getty
The Queen will later host a private lunch at Buckingham Palace for President Trump and his wife.
Afterwards, the Trumps willjoin Prince Charles and Camilla for afternoon teaat their home, Clarence House.
In the evening, the Queen will give a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace for President Trump and Mrs. Trump. Neither the Duke or Duchess of Sussex will be at the state banquet. However, bothKate MiddletonandPrince Williamwill be in attendance at the formal event.
Trump and his wife arrived in U.K. on Monday morning and waved to onlookers while exiting Air Force One.
From left: First Lady Melania Trump and President Donald Trump.SABEL INFANTES/AFP/Getty
From left: First Lady Melania Trump and President Donald Trump arrive in London on Monday for a U.K. state visit.MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty
“This is about sending a strong message that people in the U.K. don’t accept the divisive right-wing policies that Trump stands for, and that inviting him for a state visit is totally inappropriate,” the Stop Trump Coalition said in a statement.
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But Trump’s official state trip was repeatedly delayed, withspeculation that it was due toworries over protests. Amongother controversies in his relationshipwith Britain, Trump sparked intense backlash in June 2017 after he attacked London’s mayor in the wake of a terror attack there.
In July,he met with the Queen Elizabethat Windsor Castle amid the expected protests about his working trip. A “Stop Trump March” in London drew tens of thousands of people.
In an interview ahead of his meeting with the Queen last year, the president said, “She is a tremendous woman. I really look forward to meeting her. I think she represents her country so well.”
“If you think of it, for so many years she has represented her country, she has really never made a mistake,” Trump said then. “You don’t see, like, anything embarrassing. She is just an incredible woman.”
source: people.com
