Trump: I really want to meet Queen during planned summer visit to UK

DONALD Trump “really wants” to meet the Queen when he visits the UK, the US ambassador to Britain has confirmed.

Ambassador Robert Wood Johnson said that details of the president’s activities during his UK trip on July 13 were yet to be finalised, but said he would “definitely” be coming to London, despite warnings of likely demonstrations.

Mr Johnson told LBC radio that Mr Trump (right) was “thick-skinned” enough to deal with protests, and suggested that he might be able to win over critics such as London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Commons Speaker John Bercow.

Mr Khan responded to Thursday’s announcement of the July visit by saying that in London, Mr Trump would “experience an open and diverse city that has always chosen unity over division and hope over fear. He will also no doubt see that Londoners hold their liberal values of freedom of speech very dear”.

Concern over possible demonstrations is thought to have played a part in the cancellation of a trip to open the new US embassy in London earlier this year, though Mr Trump blamed it on his anger over the “bad deal” America got on the site south of the Thames.

The threat of protests is also believed to be behind the postponement of a state visit mooted for 2017.

That trip — which would involve lavish ceremonies and a stay with the Queen at Buckingham Palace — has been put off indefinitely, though Number 10 insists the invitation stands.

And Mr Johnson said it may take place in 2019, telling LBC’s Nick Ferrari: “I don’t think it’s a snub. That state visit will be put off a little bit, but maybe next year he will do that. I think so.”

The ambassador was unable to confirm who Mr Trump will meet in July, but asked if it could include the Queen, he said: “I think he really wants to meet the Queen. I think he has a really positive view, he knows that the value-added of the royal family and what they bring to the table is enormous.”

Asked how concerned the president is about the prospect of protests, Mr Johnson said: “He’s very thick-skinned. He knows what he wants to do and he speaks in a very clear and unusual way from most politicians.”

While Mr Khan and Mr Bercow were “not in sync” with the president’s views at present, “I think Mayor Khan and the Speaker might realise he has the potential to bring so much to the table, particularly during Brexit and after Brexit, on the prosperity agenda and the military agenda, they might change their opinion”, said the ambassador.

Full details of the trip are yet to be announced, although various media reports have said Mr Trump will meet the Queen.