US President Donald Trump's state visit to the United Kingdom, which was scheduled at some point this year has already been deferred by the President once but it now seems that the visit might have been canceled altogether. The British Queen delivered a speech today in which she listed her official plans for 2017 but Donald Trump's visit did not feature in that list.
Surprising turn of events
UK Prime Minister Theresa May had visited the United States this January and during that visit, she had invited the President and the first lady to a seven-day state visit to the UK.
The invitation had been in the name of The Queen and the President had accepted it. However, it emerged earlier this month that Donald Trump had deferred the trip since he feared that there would be widespread protests from the British public if he did go ahead with the visit.
The speech delivered by the Queen at the State Opening of Parliament has now plunged the visit into even more uncertainty since her official plans for the year does not include a visit by the US President. In such a situation, it would not be completely foolish to conclude that the state visit might have been canceled altogether. The BBC, however, did get to speak to a United States official close to the developments and was told that the two governments are still discussing the dates of the visit.
An explanation
In spite of the alarm bells that the Queen's speech might have set off in some circles, it was later clarified by officials at 10, Downing Street that the visit is still very much on. A spokesperson clarified that the state visit is still in the works and since the date of the visit is still being decided, it had not been added to the official plans of the Queen.
When the visit had been deferred earlier this month, the White House Press Secretary had stated that the invitation had been accepted and the visit was being planned.
A BBC expert stated that it is in fact in the UK's best interests if the state visit is delayed since the prospect of widespread protests is not something that either country wants.
Considering the close diplomatic ties between the two nations, any embarrassment for the visiting US President would be a major blow to those relations. Even more so, since it was the Queen which had sent the invitation. Last but not the least, diplomats in the UK believed that the invitation had been sent a bit too early and hence a bit of a delay now would not do any harm at all. Usually, US Presidents go on full state visits to the UK in their second term.
