US President Donald Trump's state visit to the UK later this year will push through, despite calls for it to be cancelled due to his temporary ban on residents of seven majority-Muslim countries entering the U.S. British Prime Minister Theresa May's office said that "an invitation has been extended and accepted."
The Washington Times reported that no date has been announced for the visit yet, but it sure will involve lavish pomp and ceremony, which could mean a stay at Buckingham Palace hosted by Queen Elizabeth II. Some reports say, though, that this visit is putting the Queen in a "difficult position."
According to Time, Trump's state is causing mounting protests. Former head of the Foreign Office, Peter Ricketts, said that the invitation has put Queen Elizabeth II in a "very difficult position" due to the furor caused by Trump's travel ban on refugees and people from some Muslim-majority countries.
In a letter, Ricketts said that the invitation to Trump was "ill-judged" and should not have been made until the US President has had spent some more years in office. Queen Elizabeth makes invitations to state visits upon government officials' advice, and traditionally hosts the visitor in Buckingham Palace.
A petition to cancel the state visit has already gathered about 1.5 million signatures as of last night. Thousands of people took to the streets in protest just hours after the visit has been confirmed. Buckingham Palace expressed private dismay and made it clear that it was unhappy about the perception that the Queen was being dragged into a political event.
Protesters gathered shouting "shame on May" and demonstrations against Trump's recent travel ban also took place in Edinburgh, Cardiff, Manchester, and Birmingham. Even Barack Obama spoke out to endorse the protests against President Trump's migrant ban. Obama said that he "fundamentally disagreed" with discrimination on the grounds of faith or religion.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
