Address covering state visits for next two years refers to welcoming Spanish king and queen in July, but not US president

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

The Queen’s speech has given a further indication that Donald Trump’s planned state visit to the UK has been put on hold, after the monarch did not mention it in her address.

The speech usually mentions any state visits planned for the duration of the parliament. Speaking on Wednesday, the Queen said she and Prince Philip “look forward to welcoming their majesties King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain on a state visit in July”.

However, it did not mention the visit of Trump, initially planned for this summer after Theresa May invited him on behalf of the Queen when she visited the US president in Washington DC in January, shortly after he took office.

This Queen’s speech is intended to herald a parliament lasting two years, rather than the usual one, indicating that no date for Trump’s visit has been scheduled for the near future.

The visit would be controversial, given Trump’s policies and provocative use of social media, such as when he misquoted and berated the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, after the London Bridge attack. A number of groups have promised to protest if the visit goes ahead.

The Guardian reported earlier this month that Trump had told May he did not want to go ahead with the state visit until the British public supported it.

The comments, made in a phone call, would seem to put the visit on hold indefinitely. At the time, the White House said the subject “never came up on the call”.

Downing Street has refused to comment, saying only that the invitation remained unchanged.



And Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the deputy White House press secretary, denied that the Queen’s speech indicated that the state visit had been cancelled.

“That is not what she said. She only talked about visits with confirmed dates and we do not yet have a confirmed date,” Sanders said.

After the London Bridge attack, Trump tweeted: “At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack, and Mayor of London says there is ‘no reason to be alarmed!’”

He was referring to Khan saying there was no reason to be alarmed by an increased police presence in the city the following day.

A spokesman for Khan said the mayor had “more important things to do than respond to Donald Trump’s ill-informed tweet that deliberately takes out of context his remarks”.