Queen Elizabeth II is slated to invite President-elect Donald Trump to the United Kingdom next year, it has been reported.
The Sunday Times reported that the plans to meet with Trump are being concocted in Whitehall, and a formal invitation will be sent out after Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, 2017.
A source close to the issue told the paper: “The government has decided that their secret weapon to get in with Trump is to offer him an early visit to the Queen, him and [his wife] Melania staying at Windsor Castle,” as reported by the Telegraph.
Another cabinet source added to the newspaper: “The Queen is the key here. She’s not a secret weapon, she’s the biggest public weapon you have. Nigel Farage can’t get [Trump] in front of the Queen.”
As a result, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May will try to take advantage of the meeting to start a free trade deal with the United States, the sources speculated. A visit to the U.K. from Trump could deny the influence of Farage, the architect of the Brexit movement, over the president.
A prime ministry spokeswoman said, “No visit has been organized but the Prime Minister is looking forward to welcoming the president-elect to the UK when he chooses to visit.” Meanwhile, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said, “State visits and other meetings with overseas heads of state are organized on the advice of the Government.”
