Revealed: full details of Donald Trump's UK visit - US president to meet Queen but dodges mass protests in London

Details of Trump's visit confirmed in full ++++ US president will dodge protests planned in London ++++ Formal dinner, trade meeting, and meeting with the Queen all planned
Kate Proctor9 July 2018

Britain will roll out the red carpet for Donald Trump’s visit next week with a schedule that highlights military ties but keeps the US president away from protests.

The White House and Downing Street have drawn up a schedule packed with military pageantry to highlight the defence alliance between the UK and America.

“Our armed forces have fought together for over a century and no two countries work closer together in defence co-operation. That element of the visit is a reflection of that,” said the Prime Minister’s deputy spokeswoman.

However, Mr Trump’s schedule means he will avoid thousands of demonstrators in central London.

Official details of Donald Trump's UK visit have been revealed for the first time  
AFP/Getty Images

No10 and the White House formally announced today that Mr Trump will meet the Queen at Windsor Castle and government talks will be held at Chequers.

He will watch a military ceremony at Blenheim Palace — Winston Churchill’s birthplace — and be shown cutting-edge defence technology.

The US president's visit is going to be met with protests in London - which he will be kept away from 
REUTERS

However the president will not visit venues in the heart of the capital such as Downing Street and will spend only one night at the Regent’s Park home of US ambassador Woody Johnson.

The pomp laid on by Theresa May is set to match the French army’s Bastille Day parade that Mr Trump attended as the guest of President Macron last July.

Mr Trump is due to fly into a London airport from a Nato summit in Brussels next Thursday afternoon. He will travel straight to Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, where Mrs May will host the president and his wife Melania for a black-tie dinner with 100 guests and ministers.

Donald Trump wil fly into London on board Air Force One next Thursday afternoon
EPA

The evening will start with a military ceremony in the palace’s Great Court performed by the bands of the Scots, Irish and Welsh guards.

Patriotic American songs, the Liberty Fanfare, Amazing Grace and the National Emblem will be performed.

Protesters plan to float a huge 'Trump baby' blimp over London 
@TrumpBabyUK

Guests at the dinner will include representatives from the UK’s financial services, the travel industry, creative industry, food and drink sector, engineering, technology, pharmacy and defence sectors.

The Prime Minister’s deputy spokesman said the dinner will “celebrate the strong business links between our two countries”.

Trump will visit Chequers for bilateral talks on a range of foreign policy issues including trade
PA

During the dinner the Countess of Wessex orchestra will play a series of classic British and American pieces and the Royal Regiment of Scotland will pipe the president out at the end of the evening.

The president and first lady will then travel to Winfield House, the American ambassador’s residence, where he is able to land by helicopter.

Next Friday the president and Mrs May will visit a defence site to watch a demonstration of the UK’s military capabilities and “integrated US military training”.

They will then travel to the Prime Minister’s country home Chequers for bilateral talks on a range of foreign policy issues including trade.

After a working lunch and press conference, the president and first lady will then travel to Windsor Castle to meet the Queen.

On the Government’s decision to use a country estate away from central London, the Prime Minister’s deputy spokesman said: “Prime Ministers frequently make use of Chequers for meetings with foreign leaders. It offers a more informal setting for important bilateral discussions.”

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Presidents Nixon, George H Bush and George W Bush have all visited the estate on their visits to the UK.

Mrs Trump will carry out some of her own engagements during the three and a half-day trip and she will be hosted by Mrs May’s husband Philip.

From Friday evening the president and first lady will travel to Scotland where they will spend the rest of their trip and are due to depart the UK on Sunday evening.

The locations of where he will visit in Scotland are yet to be disclosed but Mr Trump is not due to visit his late mother’s ancestral home on the Isle of Lewis.

Thousands of demonstrators are set to descend on London next Friday for several marches around Parliament and Trafalgar Square.

The US ambassador denied that Donald Trump's schedule for next week's trip was designed to keep the President away from protesters.

Ambassador Woody Johnson said Mr Trump was simply trying to get as much impact as possible from his 24 hours in England.

Briefing reporters on a conference call from the US Embassy in London, Mr Johnson played down the influence of the protests on the planning of Mr Trump's visit.

"I think we are all aware of these things but the president is focused on what his objectives are," said Mr Johnson.

"He appreciates free speech, both in this country and in our country. It is one of the things that bind us together.

"The president is not avoiding anything. The president is merely trying to get as impactful a trip as he can get in a 24-hour period."

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