Since becoming the president (again) in January, Donald Trump has yet to make an official state visit to the United Kingdom, but it sounds like that’s all about to change.
According to BBC, Buckingham Palace has confirmed that King Charles sent Trump a formal letter called a “Manu Regia” inviting him to the U.K. last week, which was delivered to Washington via representatives from the British Embassy.
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“His Majesty has known President Trump for many years and looks forward to hosting him and the First Lady later this year,” a Buckingham Palace aide said in a statement to the BBC.
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The first buzz about Trump visiting the palace came about in February, when Britain’s prime minister Kier Starmer visited the White House and hand delivered a letter from Charles. At the time, he invited the president for a preliminary visit during the summer — either at the royals’ Scottish estate, Balmoral, or at Dumfries House — to discuss the plans for the more formal state visit, but due to scheduling issues, a summer trip isn’t going to be possible.
Instead, it’s believed that Trump and the First Lady, Melania Trump, will travel to the U.K. in September.
As the BBC points out, this state visit will be an historic one since second term U.S. presidents aren’t usually offered a second state visit after they’re elected; instead, they can expect a more low key tea service at Windsor Castle or a similar meeting.
But since Trump’s last state visit took place when Queen Elizabeth was the reigning monarch, maybe it was important to Charles to meet with him as the king himself.
Related: King Charles Reveals Iconic Piece of Queen Elizabeth’s History
“We are really pleased the US president is coming for a second state visit,” the U.K.’s Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, told Parliament after the news broke.
