Why the Queen won’t be meeting Donald Trump
Earlier this year, UK Prime Minister Teresa May invited the newly-inaugurated US President Donald Trump on a state visit. This invitation was promptly met with outrage from the British public, who protested and petitioned (over 1.8 million people, in fact) for the visit to be cancelled – and it was.
However, the British diplomats have reportedly offered Trump a scaled-back “working visit” which would see the US President open a new embassy in the UK next year.
“Our position on the state visit has not changed – an offer has been extended and President Trump has accepted,” a Downing Street spokesperson said. “Exact dates for President Trump to visit have not yet been arranged.”
As a result of the full state visit being vetoed, Trump will not be permitted to have an official, fanfare-filled reception with the head of state – in other words, he’ll miss out on meeting the Queen.
Ex-president Obama, on the other hand, met the Queen on four occasions, despite only one of them being an official state visit.