Queen Elizabeth II is set to invite President-elect Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, to Windsor Castle in the summer of 2017, The Sunday Times reported on Sunday, November 20.
According to the British newspaper, the Queen, 90, plans to formally invite Donald, 70, and Melania, 46, “once he is sworn in as president on January 20.” The visit would mark one of the real estate mogul’s first foreign trips as president.
“Discussions between British officials and Trump’s team are expected to begin soon to ensure that a date can be agreed for June or July next year,” The Sunday Times reported, citing two minsters and a senior official close to Downing Street. “The Queen will also send an official congratulatory message to the president to mark the inauguration.”
The paper also reported that the former reality-TV star discussed the royal invitation last week when he met with U.K. Independence Party leader Nigel Farage and Brexit supporters Arron Banks, Andy Wigmore and Raheem Kassam at his apartment in New York City.
“He’s looking forward to it,” a member of Farage’s team told the Times. “He’s a massive anglophile. He was really, really keen. His late mother, Mary, [who was born in Scotland] loved the Queen. He said, ‘I’m going to meet her, too. I can’t wait to come over to England. My mom would be chuffed to bits when I meet the Queen.'”
According to The Sunday Times, the British government views the Queen as its “secret weapon” to create ties with the new POTUS. The newspaper also noted that the government would use Trump’s visit “to secure a post-Brexit free trade deal with the United States and to make an early effort to shape his thinking on NATO, Syria and other foreign affairs issues.”
Shortly after Trump was elected on November 8, British Prime Minister Theresa May called to congratulate him and agreed to meet after he moves into the White House. According to Time, the prime minster’s office said in a statement that Trump “was confident that the special relationship would go from strength to strength.”
