Sir Keir Starmer has gone against the wishes of the King in bringing President Trump’s state visit forward, despite the monarch’s concerns over threats to Canada.
Britain and the US are expected to confirm that a full state visit by the president will take place in September as Starmer prioritises his attempt to curry favour with Trump.
Going against the original proposal for an earlier informal visit outlined by the King, the prime minister has expedited a full “bells and whistles” visit in an attempt to capitalise on the president’s fascination with the royal family.
The Palace had hoped for a more leisurely and considered approach, building towards a full state visit. However, the president made clear that his preference was for a full visit first, which would not be overshadowed by an informal handshake picture.
It was suggested that Sir Keir Starmer — pictured picking up the details of a transatlantic trade deal in Canada — is currying favour with Trump
STEFAN ROUSSEAU/AP
It is understood that the “manu regia”, the formal document required to initiate a state visit, was signed by the King and hand-delivered to the White House last week.
The revised timetable has put pressure on the King as head of state for Canada after Trump repeatedly said that the country could become the 51st state of the US.
The Times understands that the Palace raised concerns about Trump’s threats to Canada, seeing it as a reason not to rush into a state visit. One senior source said that a senior Palace aide had told government officials that the King did not want to fête Trump with a state visit while the president was “impugning his sovereignty” over Canada.
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Senior government sources said the King wanted to have a state visit later in Trump’s second term, hoping the issue could be resolved first. However, Starmer torpedoed that aim by publicly presenting Trump with a letter from the King in the Oval Office, which raised expectations of a quicker state visit — described by one source as a “cock-up”. The letter had been written to be presented privately alongside a condition that Trump stop talking about Canada as the “51st state”.
Starmer has refused to say whether he has privately urged Trump to dial down his rhetoric on Canada.
The letter was not designed to be a formal invitation for this year, but was rather a “voucher” that would buy time by suggesting that the president drop in on the King in Balmoral or Dumfries House and that they could “plan the state visit together”.
Trump joined Queen Elizabeth for a state banquet at Buckingham Palace in 2019
VICTORIA JONES/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
The King pointed out that a second state visit by a US president was unprecedented, adding: “That is why I would find it helpful for us to be able to discuss, together, a range of options.”
A palace aide said: “His Majesty has known President Trump for many years and looks forward to hosting him and the first lady later this year.”
Mark Carney, Canada’s prime minister, has said his country is “not impressed” with Britain’s invitation to Trump at a time when the president is threatening to annexe the country. On a visit to Canada last week, Starmer was forced to insist that “Canada is an independent, sovereign nation, and quite right too”.
The King delivered a coded rebuke to Trump during a speech at the opening of the Canadian parliament in Ottawa last month, invoking Canada’s “unique identity” and “sovereignty”. Referring to the Canadian national anthem, the King said that “The True North is indeed strong and free”.
Trump is expected to visit his Aberdeenshire golf resort next month. It is not thought that he will see the King while in the UK.
Those familiar with the King’s thinking have said that this is not down to a lack of will on Charles’s part but rather a matter of scheduling. A source said that different options outlined in the King’s letter had been discussed and that a decision was made in agreement with all parties to go ahead with an “all bells and whistles” state visit, which would negate the need for a meeting beforehand.
Trump has publicly said that he will travel to the UK in September for a high-profile visit that he has described as a “fest”.
A source close to the King denied any suggestion that there had been a disagreement or any discord between the Palace and Downing Street over the visit. A Palace source pointed out that all state visits were conducted on the government’s advice. No 10 and Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
Charles was born to be a diplomat
When is a handshake not the right kind of handshake (Kate Mansey writes)? That has been the conundrum facing the Palace, Downing Street and the White House for months as protracted negotiations played out across the Atlantic over the timing of Donald Trump’s visit.
After initially suggesting that an informal visit would be “helpful” in a private letter that was unhelpfully wafted in front of TV cameras in the Oval Office, the King will go ahead with a full British state welcome for the US president and first lady.
It is understood to be the preference of both Sir Keir Starmer and Trump, the latter not wishing to see a holiday snap handshake at Balmoral during the summer overshadow the full glory of a state visit a few weeks later.
For Starmer and Trump, the upside of the visit is obvious. For the King, less so.
Palace sources point out that the King always acts on the advice of his governments. Plural. And therein lies the rub. As head of state for Canada as well as the UK, Charles is in a tight spot. Trump has frequently said that Canada should be America’s 51st state, while Mark Carney, the country’s newly-elected prime minister, has maintained that it will never be “for sale”.
During a visit to Ottawa last month the King reinforced the country’s status as an independent, sovereign nation.
Now he’ll have to switch horses and roll out the red carpet at Windsor Castle in September for Trump. Fortunately for Charles, it’s a job he has been in training for from the moment he was born.