An invitation for Donald Trump to meet the Queen on a state visit is under consideration, No 10 has confirmed.
Theresa May’s spokeswoman said officials were still working out the list of invitations to extend to heads of state next year but the US president-elect was one of the options, along with the king of Spain.
It is the convention that the government extends an invitation on behalf of the Queen for state visits, which are currently being organised for 2017. “An invitation for a state visit is one of the things that is under consideration following the election of a new US president,” May’s spokeswoman said. “One of the issues under consideration is the 2017 state visits.”
There have been reports that Downing Street is keen to build a relationship with Trump by capitalising on his enthusiasm for the Queen. The president-elect told Nigel Farage and his circle during a meeting that his late mother, who was Scottish, had a deep admiration for the UK monarch.
Farage stole a march on May by becoming the first foreign politician to meet the Republican president-elect. However, No 10 has said the prime minister will aim to meet Trump at the earliest opportunity, possibly before he takes office on 20 January.
The Sunday Times reported at the weekend that Trump and his wife, Melania, could be invited to Windsor.
May has ruled out allowing Farage to play a role as a go-between to smooth the relationship between No 10 and Trump. However, she has not so far received the warmest treatment from him, and was only 11th on his list for post-victory calls to world leaders.
The pair only had a brief phone call in which Trump reportedly told May: “If you travel to the US you should let me know.”
