President Donald Trump will make an official state visit to the United Kingdom, the BBC reports, as part of a week of celebrations honoring the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.
A state visit to the U.K. has been on the table since Trump was elected back in 2016, and both sides made several efforts to make official plans for Trump to visit with U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May and to visit Buckingham Palace for an official engagement with Queen Elizabeth II, but nothing was ever set in stone. The last effort — an overture from May’s government — nearly resulted in an official state visit, but the White House cancelled citing “security concerns.”
Trump has been to the U.K. once before, for a “working visit” where he met with May to discuss trade, and journeyed to Windsor Castle with First Lady Melania Trump for tea with the Queen.
This time, though, the visit is timed to coincide with D-Day 75 celebrations set to take place in both the U.K., where the joined Allied invasion that turned the tide of the war against Nazi Germany in Europe was planned and launched, and in Normandy, France, the site of the invasion and the location of several Allied cemeteries.
The White House revealed Tuesday that an official invitation had been offered and accepted.
“President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump accepted the invitation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to visit the United Kingdom from June 3 to 5, 2019,” the White House said in a statement. “This state visit will reaffirm the steadfast and special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.”
The state visit will begin June 3 and extend through June 5. Trump will participate in D-Day celebrations in Portsmouth, U.K., attend an official state banquet where he and Melania will be guests of the Queen, and will meet with both Theresa May and members of Parliament. He will then travel to France for D-Day 75.
Although the visit does center around a joint celebration, protesters in the U.K. have promised to make Trump’s trip to the U.K. as difficult as possible, announcing Tuesday that the president should expect “maximum disruption” if he appears in public, and promising a massive protest against Trump’s “climate change” policies in downtown London.
Newsweek reports that “plans were already underway for when the president arrives, including a ‘big demo,'” that protesters say will make Trump’s visit “unpleasant.”
“It’s up to us, again, to say Trump is not welcome, and to make his visit as unpleasant as possible. We’re going to aim for maximum disruption,” the “Stop Trump Coalition” said in a statement to the outlet. “I’d really hope his visit will become a magnet for all those who want radical climate action to be undertaken, because Trump, after all, is a symbol of climate change denial globally—one of the reasons we see him as one of the most dangerous men in the world at this time.”
“Donald Trump is the world’s number one racist, warmonger and misogynist, with no solution to the global economic crisis,” said the leader of a group called “Stand Up to Trump.” “His presidency has emboldened every fascist and racist across the globe and is stirring up tension in Latin America, the Middle East and Asia. … Donald Trump is not welcome here.”
Last time Trump visited the U.K., protesters trotted out a “Baby Trump” balloon that proved rather underwhelming. The balloon is now on a “protest tour” in the United States and there’s no word on whether Baby Trump will be back in the U.K. for a repeat appearance.
Trump was also left largely unperturbed by the protest that took place during his last visit. He did not appear in public and was not affected by demonstrations in downtown London.