Donald Trump state visit to UK: What can we expect?
Donald Trump state visit to UK: All you need to know
(17 days later)
Donald Trump will make a state visit to the UK in June this year - more than two years after Prime Minister Theresa May extended the invitation to the US leader just days into his presidency.
US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are making a state visit to the UK from 3 to 5 June. Here's a rundown of what we can expect.
Mr Trump and his wife Melania will be guests of the Queen between 3-5 June, following in the footsteps of predecessors Barack and Michelle Obama and George and Laura Bush.
But what happens during an official state visit, who decides who gets an invitation, and which world figures have caused controversy during the Queen's long reign?
What is a state visit?
What is a state visit?
It's a formal trip to the UK by a head of state and is normally at the invitation of the Queen, who acts on advice from the government.
It's a formal trip to the UK by a head of state and is normally at the invitation of the Queen, who acts on advice from the government.
Although they're grand occasions, they're not just ceremonial affairs. They have a political purpose and are used by the government to further what it sees as Britain's national interests.
Although they're grand occasions, they're not just ceremonial affairs - they're also used by the government to further what it sees as Britain's national interests.
The Queen usually receives one or two heads of state per year. She has hosted 112 state visits since becoming monarch in 1952, the latest being the King and Queen of the Netherlands in October last year.
The Queen usually receives one or two heads of state per year and has hosted 112 of these visits since becoming monarch in 1952.
The official website of the Queen and the Royal Family has a full list of all the other state visits, and details of how the ceremonies unfold.
The official website of the Queen and the Royal Family has a full list of all the other state visits, and details of how the ceremonies unfold.
What happens during the visit?
Visitors usually stay at either Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle, but because Buckingham Palace is being renovated the US president is not expected to stay there.
The schedule for Mr Trump's visit is being worked out by the UK and US governments, and the Royal Household, but there are some things which are common to most state visits.
While Mr Trump will only be the third US president to make a state visit to the UK, the Queen has met almost all the US presidents in office during that time, either in the UK or in the US.
The Queen acts as the official host of the trip and visitors usually stay at either Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle.
What will happen on the visit?
Since Buckingham Palace is being renovated, the US president is not expected to stay there.
The full schedule for Mr Trump's visit has not yet been released, but it is known that he'll hold bilateral talks with Mrs May at 10 Downing Street.
The visit may follow a traditional format, beginning with the Queen and other members of the Royal Family greeting Mr Trump on Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall, central London.
The president and his wife will also attend a ceremony in Portsmouth to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of D-Day.
The president and his entourage could then travel to Buckingham Palace in a carriage escorted by a large number of mounted soldiers and accompanied by gun salutes fired from Green Park and the Tower of London.
Beyond this, there'll be the usual pomp and ceremony of a state visit, including a banquet hosted by the Queen at Buckingham Palace.
This is usually followed by a state banquet at the palace, where the Queen toasts the visitor.
A visiting leader will sometimes speak at the Houses of Parliament, but there are doubts about whether Mr Trump will do so.
Later in the trip, the visiting leader usually speaks at the Houses of Parliament.
In 2017 Commons Speaker John Bercow - who can veto who speaks to Parliament - said Mr Trump should not be allowed to formally address MPs and peers.
Commons Speaker John Bercow sparked controversy in 2017 by saying Mr Trump should not be allowed to formally address MPs.
At the time, he said that addressing Parliament was "not an automatic right, it is an earned honour".
But after rumours of the US president's state visit began circulating last week, the Speaker's Office put out a statement saying any request to address Parliament would be "considered in the usual way".
The Speaker's Office now says any request to address Parliament will be "considered in the usual way".
While many aspects of the visit are yet to be confirmed, we do know Mr Trump will hold a bilateral meeting with Mrs May at Downing Street and will attend a ceremony in Portsmouth to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
Why is the visit controversial?
Hasn't Donald Trump met the Queen before?
The Prime Minister says the visit is a chance for the UK and the US to strengthen their "already close relationship". Talks will cover areas such as trade, investment, security and defence.
Donald and Melania Trump had tea with the Queen at Windsor Castle during the president's working visit to the UK last year.
That trip - during which Mr Trump also held talks with Mrs May at her country residence, Chequers, and visited his Turnberry golf resort - was marked by demonstrations.
A focal point of the protests was an inflatable balloon, dubbed the "Trump baby blimp", which depicted the president as a nappy-wearing infant.
Mr Trump will be only the third US president to have been invited on a state visit by Queen Elizabeth during her 67-year reign.
But the Queen has met almost all the US presidents in office during that time, either in the UK or in the US.
Why has his planned visit upset some people?
Mrs May hailed the state visit as a chance for the UK and the US "to strengthen our already close relationship".
But Mr Trump is a controversial figure and many have opposed the visit.
But Mr Trump is a controversial figure and many have opposed the visit.
Since he was elected in 2016, the US president has been criticised over his immigration policies, such as building a wall along the US-Mexico border and banning citizens from some Muslim-majority countries entering the US.
His policies - from the executive order that restricts entry to the US from certain countries, to the wall with Mexico, and his rejection of the Paris climate deal - have provoked criticism, both domestically and internationally.
In 2017, Mr Trump prompted anger from world leaders and climate change campaigners when he announced he was to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement, which commits signatories to keep global temperature increases "well below" 2C.
And that is to say nothing about some of the comments he's made - including outspoken attacks against political opponents, the media, and his critics - and the investigation into his links to Russia.
Mr Trump has also been accused of making misogynistic remarks about women including his former presidential rival, Hillary Clinton, and Fox News presenter, Megyn Kelly.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has refused to attend Mr Trump's state banquet, accusing the president of using "racist and misogynist rhetoric", while Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable has also declined an invitation to attend.
More recently, the US leader banned certain transgender people from the military, sparking protests against LGBT discrimination.
Others argue that the US is a key ally of the UK and that Mr Trump should be welcomed accordingly.
Campaigners have already pledged to mobilise "huge numbers" in response to Mr Trump's state visit.
What happened during his working visit to the UK?
Leo Murray, who helped crowdfund the baby blimp last year, said this time activists were "toying with the idea of a hot air balloon" to protest against the state visit.
It was certainly eventful.
Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry responded to news of the visit by saying: "It beggars belief that on the very same day Donald Trump is threatening to veto a United Nations resolution against the use of rape as a weapon of war, Theresa May is pressing ahead with her plans to honour him with a state visit to the UK."
As well as holding talks with Mrs May at her country residence, Chequers, and having tea with the Queen at Windsor Castle, the trip was marked by demonstrations.
Sabby Dhalu, from British campaign group Stand Up To Trump, which is organising a protest on 4 June, described the US leader as "the world's number one racist, warmonger and misogynist".
Tens of thousands of people gathered in central London to protest against him.
But Sarah Elliott, chair of Republicans Overseas, denied that President Trump courted the support of racists, telling the BBC he won in many areas that elected Barack Obama twice. "He spoke to the people and what they wanted to hear," she said.
There was also a six-metre "Trump baby" blimp - depicting the president as a nappy-wearing infant - inflated outside Parliament.
Mr Trump is not the first international leader to be greeted in the UK with uproar. The Queen has met a number of other controversial heads of state during her reign.
And at his golf resort in Turnberry, one protester paraglided over the hotel as President Trump played the course.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and First Lady Madame Peng
Will there be more protests?
When: October 2015
Campaigners have claimed they will mobilise "huge numbers" in response to Mr Trump's arrival.
Controversy: The country's human rights records and Chinese rule in Tibet.
Leo Murray, who helped organise the blimp demonstration, said although there is an element of "outrage fatigue", activists would still gather in large numbers if Trump speaks in Parliament.
Campaigners said the Chinese authorities had targeted activists and their families with harassment, imprisonment and torture. Human rights groups cited persecution of people for their religious beliefs, discrimination against ethnic minorities, torture, the death penalty, tight restrictions on media and limited access to foreign TV and publications. Critics also pointed out job losses in the UK steel sector, which had been partially blamed on China selling steel in the global market at a much cheaper price.
Sabby Dhalu, from British campaign group Stand Up To Trump, described the US leader as "the world's number one racist, warmonger and misogynist" and said they were organising a protest.
Saudi King Abdullah
Michael Delabroc, 26, is a pro Donald Trump campaigner, and says he expects thousands of people to attend a counter-protest to show "there are people here who are fond of the president".
When: October 2007
He says there are plans to bring a giant float of Trump dressed as the Emperor from the Warhammer 40,000 series - if it isn't rejected.
Controversy: The country's human rights record.
There were also calls for the reopening of a corruption inquiry into a massive arms deal. Protesters shouted "shame on you" as the royal procession passed along The Mall in central London.
Chinese President Hu Jintao and First Lady Liu Yongqing
When: November 2005
Controversy: The country's human rights records, Taiwan and Chinese rule in Tibet.
US President George W Bush
When: November 2003
Controversy: The US-led war in Iraq.
Some 100,000 demonstrators, according to police, gathered in London's Trafalgar Square, where an effigy of Mr Bush was toppled.
Japanese Emperor Hirohito and Empress Nagako
When: October 1971
Controversy: He was Japan's emperor during World War II.
Veterans and former prisoners of war, angry at Japan's brutal militaristic past, protested by standing in silence as his carriage drove past. Some wore red gloves to symbolise war deaths while others whistled a popular World War II marching song.
Other controversial guests
1978: Romanian President Nicolae and First Lady Elena Ceauşescu
1991: Egyptian President and First Lady Hosni and Suzanne Mubarak
