On September 17, Donald Trump will land in the UK for his second state visit – just a little over six years since his first.
It’s widely described as unprecedented, and it certainly is for a US President. Just don’t tell Trump about the First World War-era French President Raymond Poincaré, who visited in 1913 and 1919.
In any case, this will be the first time a world leader has been granted the privilege of a second state visit in well over a century.
That raises a few questions – how similar will this trip be to the President’s first? How do you change it up to stop him getting bored?
There will, of course, be several differences. The obvious one is a different monarch – Trump was hosted by Queen Elizabeth six years ago, while King Charles will have the honour this time round.
Then there’s the choice of venue. The late Queen welcomed the President to Buckingham Palace, with his helicopter Marine One landing in the gardens in the early afternoon of June 3 2019.
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In September, the King will host him at Windsor Castle, as was the case with French President Emmanuel Macron when he had his own state visit earlier in July.
What happened on Trump’s first state visit?
There were a few ruffled feathers when Keir Starmer produced an invitation for a second state visit on his visit to the White House in February.
But the backlash barely registered compared to the outrage that followed the announcement of the first state visit.
A petition calling for the offer to be revoked attracted more than 1.8 million signatures. It’s still one of the largest petitions in British history.
Of course, it still went ahead.
The President and First Lady landed at Buckingham Palace on a mild summer’s day, and were greeted at their helicopter by Charles and Camilla, then the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.
Queen Elizabeth met them at the entrance to the Palace a couple of minutes later, ahead of a performance by the Grenadier Guards.
That was the beginning of a pretty packed first day: a private lunch was followed by a look at items from the Royal Collection highlighting the relationship between the US and UK.
Trump was then joined by Prince Andrew on a visit to Westminster Abbey, where he placed a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
That evening, the white-tie state banquet took place at Buckingham Palace.
The following day, June 4, was more political. Trump joined then-Prime Minister Theresa May at Downing Street, and the pair held a press conference – where the President memorably said the NHS would be ‘on the table’ as part of a future US-UK trade deal.
On June 5, he travelled with the Queen and Prince of Wales to Portsmouth for an event marking the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, then left to visit Ireland.
What about the Trump Baby Blimp?
One of the most memorable images from the first state visit was the inflated caricature of Donald Trump in a nappy floating above Parliament Square.
London Mayor – and outspoken Trump critic – Sadiq Khan had given demonstrators permission to fly the so-called blimp the previous year.
A team of people in red jumpsuits and hats reading ‘Trump Babysitters’ started to blow up the 18-foot balloon around 8.30am on June 4, and it later formed the centrepiece of a large-scale protest march.
It all ended violently, though, when a Tommy Robinson supporter filmed herself slashing the blimp with a pair of scissors.
Two years later, the inflatable became part of the Museum of London’s protest collection, alongside artefacts linked to the suffragettes and climate campaigners.
It’s unclear if it will come out of retirement for this year’s visit.
What will happen on Trump’s state visit this year?
Buckingham Palace has not confirmed much about the state visit, beyond the fact it will take place at Windsor Castle from September 17 to 19.
We can expect a few things, though. The state banquet and laying of a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier are traditional parts of all such visits.
Trump will join the Prime Minister at Downing Street for talks that will likely touch on trade and defence, and there will almost certainly be another joint press conference which will no doubt generate plenty of news.
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