Donald Trump and his family made plenty of headlines when they visited London in 2019 for an official visit with Queen Elizabeth, and in February, the U.S. president was invited back for an unprecedented second state visit by King Charles. Vice President JD Vance shared comments earlier this week about Trump's "love" for The King and the rest of the Royal Family—and now the president has given an indication on when the public might expect to see him travel to the U.K.
President Trump, speaking from the White House on Thursday, April 17, said that planning for the historic visit is well underway. "I think they are setting a date for September," he said, via the Mirror.
"I was invited by The King and the great country," Trump continued. "They are going to do a second fest—that's what it is. It is beautiful." The president—who met with Prince William during the reopening ceremony at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris last fall—was full of praise for the Royal Family when sharing why he was invited back to the U.K.
"The reason is we have two separate terms, and it's an honor to be a friend of King Charles and the family, William," he said. The U.S. president had nothing but positive things to say about the "very handsome" Prince of Wales after their meeting in November.
"We had a great talk for half an hour, a little more than half an hour," Trump told the New York Post after their chat. "We had a great, great talk." The then-president elect shared that they discussed Princess Kate and King Charles's cancer battles, revealing, "I asked him about his wife and he said she’s doing well. I asked him about his father and his father is fighting very hard, and he loves his father and he loves his wife, so it was sad."
During an episode of the Sun's "Royal Exclusive" show at the time, royal correspondent Cameron Walker called the Royal Family Britain's "Trump cards" when it comes to relations with the United States. "We know that royal sources and his aides want to push William into this global statesman figure and we know the Labour government isn't going to get on much with President Trump and the Republican party in the U.S.," the royal reporter explained.
Speaking of his official state visit to the U.K. in 2019 and his upcoming trip, President Trump said, "I don't know how it can be bigger than the last one," adding, "The last one was incredible but they say the next one will be even more important."
