the keys to unlocking a trade deal with Trump 

Donald Trump hailed Sir Keir Starmer and both of their teams for getting the trade deal done but behind the scenes the Royal Family and golf also played their part.

In the Oval Office yesterday, the US President suggested that Brexit, his good working relationship with Starmer, and the professionalism of their negotiators were all key factors in securing a UK-US trade deal after a quarter of century of efforts had previously come to nought.

For once, what went unsaid was the role that the King and Prince William in particular have played in helping to soften up Trump, open the door to the negotiations, and put the much-vaunted special relationship between the two countries front and centre on the world stage.

Trump, whose mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, was Scottish, has a deep admiration for the Royal Family and has been exchanging letters with King Charles for years. It was a card that Starmer and British diplomats knew they needed to play to help weather the incoming storm and they wasted no time.

In December, just over a month after the volatile maverick won the election but before he assumed office, Prince William was dispatched to charm the president-elect at the re-opening of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, five years after it was badly damaged in a devastating fire.

Amid the opulence of the British ambassador’s residence in the French capital, the two men sat down and chatted for 40 minutes about the importance of the UK-US relationship. “Good man, this one,” Trump said, gesturing to the Prince of Wales, before sharing some of his memories of the late Queen.

Donald Trump and Prince William meeting in Paris last December (Photo: Aaron Chown/PA Wire)

In a US media interview afterwards Trump gushed about the Prince: “He’s a good-looking guy. He looked really, very handsome,” he said.

Then in February Starmer visited the White House, flourishing a letter from the King inviting the President to come to Britain on an unprecedented second state visit and, before that, drop in to see him at either Balmoral or his Dumfries House residence in Ayrshire when he was next over to inspect his two golf courses – Trump International in Aberdeenshire and Turnberry in South Ayrshire.

Their two offices and the British Government have been trying to arrange both visits ever since. Such has been the sensitivity over it that diplomats for both countries have been anxious to stress the extreme urgency. “Some state visits take three years of planning but this is on another trajectory,” one said, predicting that both could happen as soon as this year.

The finer details are yet to be nailed down but the latest discussions have centred on the possibility of Trump visiting Britain in September on either that promised informal visit or perhaps for the full state visit. At the same time the two countries have been discussing the idea of the King and Queen making a return state visit to the US next year to mark 250 years since American independence.

Starmer’s letter from the King inviting Trump to a second state visit is said to have been key at winning over the US President (Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

Royal visits are all part of Britain’s diplomatic armoury and can be an extremely useful way of dealing with countries that have close historic ties with Britain or authoritarian leaders who appreciate the longevity and stability provided by monarchy, according to diplomats. It is no coincidence that members of the Royal Family have also travelled to the Gulf nations and to India in the past few months as Starmer’s Government has sought trade deals with those parts of the world.

“It’s an honour to be a friend of Charles. I have great respect for King Charles and the family, William,” Trump said three weeks ago. “I think they’re setting a date for September.” Although the state visit is in theory being fast-tracked, it and the prospect of the world’s most prestigious golf tournament taking place at a Trump course, are both carrots that have been dangled in front of the President to appeal to his personal interests until the trade deal was agreed.

Evie Aspinall, director of the British Foreign Policy Group think-tank, believes the King and his family have played an important role with Trump. “A lot of this will have happened behind closed doors so we don’t know a huge amount of detail about the specifics of the role the Royal Family played. What we do know is that Starmer was very strategic when he offered the state visit to Trump,” she said.

“He knew that was appealing to Trump’s very strong affinity for the Royal Family and that was really used as leverage to build that relationship between Starmer and Trump, who are two people that don’t instinctively align on very much.

Trump at his Turnberry golf course in 2023. Starmer has put pressure on golf’s governing body to host tournaments at the President’s courses in Scotland (Photo: Andrew Milligan/PA)

“As much as anything, he’s used them as a hook to start negotiations and build that softer relationship with Trump which, as we are seeing now, has had really positive effects in terms of trade.

“I imagine in the coming months and years, even before the state visit, you will see Royal Family members being wheeled out at opportune moments where we know President Trump will be and conversations and side meetings being arranged with them because we now know that it is such a powerful asset. And moving forward, I think you will see the UK using the Royal Family more.”

Starmer has also put pressure on golf’s governing body, the Royal and Ancient (R&A), to help Britain out by hosting tournaments at Trump’s courses after repeated requests from the President.

The DP World Tour’s Scottish Championship is now heading to his Aberdeenshire course for the first time later this year, it emerged this week.

But whether the US President will also secure his dream of hosting The Open at Turnberry in 2028 remains to be seen.

Last month the R&A said it had spoken to Downing Street and would like to see Turnberry return as an Open venue but warned that it faced significant challenges because of a lack of accommodation and poor road and rail links.

“We have explained the logistical challenges around Turnberry to the Government and they are aware of the position,” an R&A spokesman said.