Donald Trumpis expected to meet withPrince Charlesfor the first time since being elected.
The heir to the U.K. throne, 70, has “agreed to” meet with Trump, 72, during thecontroversial state visitin June, according toCNN, which also reported that the pair, who previously met in 2005 when Charles and wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, toured the U.S, is expected to have afternoon tea at the royal’s Clarence House residence.
Representatives from Clarence House and the White House did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.
Trump, who has hadhis fair share of controversies in his relationshipwith Britain, and Charles have different stances when it comes to one of the royal’s most important causes: climate change.
Queen Elizabeth‘s son hashighlighted the effects of climate changein his decades of public work, having made his first speech on the environment in December 1968 and continues to work with organizations to promote sustainable ways of living while warning of climate change’s irreversible effect.
Meanwhile, Trump has dismissed the damage of global warming, even quoting climate skeptics who claim it to be“fake science.”
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In April, Buckingham Palace and the White House announced the president would be visiting the U.K. with First LadyMelania Trumpfor their first official state visit, though he madea working visit last summer.
The first couple will travel from June 3 to 5 where they will be greeted with the full pomp ofan official state visit.
“This state visit will reaffirm the steadfast and special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom,” the White House said in a statement.
Trump will also meet with Prime MinisterTheresa Mayand he and the first lady will attend a commemorative event for the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
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But the official state trip was repeatedly delayed, withspeculation that it was due toworries over the protests he might face. Trump also sparked intense backlash in June 2017 after he attacked London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, in the wake of a terror attack there.
Earlier this month, Khanblasted Trumpand the upcoming state visit, suggesting that Trump “is not in the same class” as former presidentsBarack Obama, who visited in 2011, and George W. Bush, who visited in 2003.
“Of course we should have a close relationship with the president of the United States, but we shouldn’t be rolling out the red carpet; we shouldn’t have a state banquet,” Khan said during aninterviewwith British radio showLeading Britain’s Conversation.
“It’s possible to have a working relationship without the need to have a state banquet and roll out the red carpet,” he added.
Khan is not the only one in the U.K. opposing Trump’s state visit.
In July 2018, whenTrump first met with the Queenat Windsor Castle, there were protests about his working trip, including a “Stop Trump March” in London which drew tens of thousands of people.
source: people.com
