In less than a week since Donald and Melania Trump accepted an invitation from Queen Elizabeth to come to London for a state visit, things have gotten awkward. It’s not clear which came first: Trump’s Twitter rant about British spies working with President Barack Obama to spy on his 2016 campaign or the message the Trumps won’t be able to stay with the queen in Buckingham Palace. Yet, according to Vanity Fair , it’s looking “like a mess.”
During the time that the Trumps are scheduled to visit, the wing of the palace where the aides of foreign dignitaries are lodged, the East Wing, will be closed as part of the “10-year, £365 million renovation of Buckingham Palace.” It is more likely that the couple will stay at Winfield House, the U.S. ambassador’s residence (where they stayed during their last visit to England).
Vanity Fair says that this situation is likely a win-win for the queen.
“It’s probably a coincidence that the renovation will affect that specific wing on those specific dates, but it will at least allow the Queen to keep the Trumps at arm’s length if she so chooses.”
Protesters are already organizing to march in an effort to disrupt Trump’s visit, likely the way they did the last time he came to town, even rallying in Scotland near the president’s golf courses.
Trump and first lady to head to UK to meet with Queen Elizabeth II and Theresa May https://t.co/JEkrAV8UHA pic.twitter.com/yRJGhrfGE2
— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 24, 2019
Organizers of last year’s protest confirmed with CNN that the “big baby Trump” blimp will once again fly over London while Trump is in town. Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, adds that the opinions of the protesters have not changed since Trump’s last visit.
“I mean, it doesn’t take a crystal ball for people to predict there will be protests. Many of the things that this president has said, people find objectionable.”
It’s not clear which, if any senior members of the royal family will attend the state dinner for the Trumps, as last time, only the queen made the meeting.
But it’s still unclear what the Trump administration will have to do in the way of apologies for rehashing the accusations against the British intelligence community that they worked with Barack Obama to spy on the then-presidential candidate, per The Inquisitr .
A representative from one intelligence agency in the U.K. has called Trump’s accusations “utterly ridiculous” as the president once again ruffled British feathers. The last time this matter came up, the White House had to issue an official apology to smooth things over with the U.S.’s closest ally.
