US President Donald Trump has accepted an invitation from King Charles III to visit the UK handed to him by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer during his visit to the White House.
In accepting, Trump will become him the first US president to be hosted for two state visits by a British monarch.
Starmer handed a letter from the King to the US President shortly before the pair held talks in the Oval Office on Thursday (Friday AEDT).
The monarch invited Trump to visit Balmoral, a royal estate and castle in Scotland that was the late Queen Elizabeth II’s favourite residence, or Dumfries House, which is near one of the US president’s golf clubs in Turnberry, Scotland.
Here are some of the contents of the royal letter, reported by the BBC.
“Quite apart from this presenting an opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues of mutual interest, it would also offer a valuable chance to plan a historic second state visit to the United Kingdom.
“As you will know this is unprecedented by a US President.
“That is why I would find it helpful for us to be able to discuss, together, a range of options for location and programme content.
“In so doing, working together, I know we will further enhance the special relationship between our two countries of which we are both so proud.”
The note is signed “Yours Most Sincerely, Charles” at the bottom.
Trump was hosted by the late Queen Elizabeth II when visited the UK during his first administration in 2018.
Starmer was visiting the White House to try to convince US President Donald Trump that a lasting peace in Ukraine will endure only if Kyiv and European leaders are at the table as negotiations move forward with Moscow.
In a media conference following their meeting, Trump said a peace deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine is possible but must be concluded quickly or else it may fail.
“If it doesn’t happen quickly, it may not happen at all,” Trump said alongside Starmer.
Trump has already spoken by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about his ideas for an agreement to end the three-year-old conflict.
He will meet Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday (Saturday AEDT) to further discuss prospects.
Trump praised Zelenskyy in his defence against Russia’s invasion and said they would have a “very good meeting”. But he did not answer a question on whether he’ll apologize for calling him a dictator earlier this month.
“We have a lot of respect. I have a lot of respect for him. We’ve given him a lot of equipment and a lot of money, but they have fought very bravely,”
Starmer’s trip, coming a few days after French President Emmanuel Macron’s own visit, reflects the mounting concern felt by much of Europe that Trump’s aggressive push to find an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine signals his willingness to concede too much to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
– With Associated Press
