Donald Trump holds a letter from Britain's King Charles III during a bilateral meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the Oval Office
Washington (AFP) - King Charles III has invited US President Donald Trump for an unprecedented second state visit to Britain, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said while visiting the White House on Thursday.
Trump will become the first political leader to receive a second state visit to Britain, after he visited in 2019 during his first term as president.
“This is really special, this has never happened before, this is unprecedented,” Starmer said in the Oval Office as he handed Trump a hand-signed letter from the monarch containing the invitation.
“This is truly historic.”
The US president has long been a vocal fan of the British royal family.
He also has a close affinity to the UK due to the fact his mother was born in Scotland.
Political observers will see the offer as clever ploy by Starmer to try to flatter Trump as he seeks to win over the US president on Ukraine and tariffs, among other contentious issues.
Britain rolled out the red carpet for Trump six years ago when he met the late Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles’s mother.
“His majesty the king wants to make this even better,” said Starmer, who was at the White House to push Trump to give US security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of a deal to end the war with Russia.
Reading the letter, Trump pointed out that he had been invited to Windsor Castle, near London, one of the royal family’s ancient homes.
But the letter from Charles also suggested Trump might want to visit Balmoral in northeast Scotland, which is close to a golf resort Trump has there.
After reading the letter, Trump said of Charles: “He’s a beautiful man, a wonderful man – I’ve gotten to know him very well, actually. First term and now second term.”
He added: “On behalf of our wonderful First Lady Melania and myself, the answer is yes and we look forward to being there and honoring the King and honoring really your country.
“Your country is a fantastic country and it’ll be our honor to be there. Thank you very much,” he told Starmer.
Starmer said the offer of a second state visit “symbolizes the strength of the relationship between us”.