JD Vance has taken his family on a British summer holiday, just weeks after Donald Trump’s Scotland visit.
In July, the US president spent five days in Scotland, where he played golf in Turnberry and Aberdeenshire. He’s returning to the UK for a full state visit from September 17 to 19.
JD Vance began his tour in Kent and will finish up in Ayrshire, Scotland.
Here’s everything we know about the vice president’s UK tour:
Kent
On Friday, JD Vance stayed at David Lammy’s 17th century manor house in Chevening, Kent, according to the Telegraph newspaper.
The property is located on 3,000 acres of land, featuring a maze and lake, where the US vice president and UK foreign secretary went fishing.
Mr Vance and Mr Lammy are reported to have developed a fond friendship, connecting over their challenging childhoods and Christian faith.
Mr Lammy told Mr Vance that he was “delighted” to host him in his “home”.
The 115-room Grade I-listed mansion technically belongs to the nation, but it’s permitted for cabinet ministers, such as foreign secretaries, to stay there and invite guests.
Mr Vance described Mr Lammy as a “very, very gracious host”. He joked: “Unfortunately, the one strain on the special relationship is that all of my kids caught fish, but the Foreign Secretary did not,” he said.
Hampton Court Palace
On Sunday, JD Vance visited Hampton Court Palace, causing delays for visitors.
The royal palace is the former home of Henry VIII, built over 500 years ago.
On the day of Mr Vance’s visit, the Grade I-listed building was closed to the public, reopening at 12pm.
The Cotwswolds
Next up, Mr Vance and his family travelled to the Cotswolds to stay in an 18th-century manor house owned by Johnny and Pippa Hornby, which costs a reported £8,000 a week.
The property was bought in 2017 and features a “waterworld” with a swimming pool, where the Camerons are known to have enjoyed a swim, Tatler reports.
The luxurious home also features a tennis court, a rose garden, a gym, a Georgian orangery and a wildflower meadow, located on six acres of land.
The house is nearby to Diddly Squat, the farm and pub owned by Jeremy Clarkson. It has also been reported that Jay-Z and Beyonce have been house-hunting in the region.
But while the US vice president may be enjoying the peaceful British countryside, local residents have complained of the disruption caused by the visit.
Hornby told neighbours she was “so sorry for the circus that is there for the next few days”, and said she hoped it would not be “too disruptive”. However, residents have described roadblocks and police door knocks relating to Mr Vance’s visit.
“We are used to the great and good here. Before David Cameron moved in we had Douglas Hurd and he was lovely. We have Ben Kingsley in Spelsbury, and we see him in the woods walking his dog, but to close off the roads is ridiculous,” one resident told The Times.
Another resident said to The Observer that although locals were “used to seeing police around,” because of Mr Cameron living there, they had seen “nothing like this”.
Scotland
Mr Vance and his family are expected to arrive in Ayrshire, Scotland, later this week, where they’ll stay for five days.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Planning is under way for a potential visit to Scotland by the Vice President of the United States.
"Details of any visit would be for the White House to comment on, however it is important that we prepare in advance for what would be a significant policing operation."
However, it’s likely that there will be opposition to his visit.
In Mr Vance’s speech at the Munich security conference, he said he had been charged with the “heinous crime of standing 50 metres from an abortion clinic and silently praying for three minutes, not obstructing anyone, not interacting with anyone, just silently praying on his own”.
He also said that the Scottish government distributed letters for residents whose houses were “within so-called safe access zones”, warning them that “even private prayer within their own homes may amount to breaking the law”.
A spokesperson for the Scottish government said Mr Vance’s claim was wrong. “Private prayer at home is not prohibited within safe access zones and no letter has ever suggested it was,” the spokesperson said.
