Trump Gets 'Unprecedented' Invite From King Charles

At the start of his White House meeting with President Trump on Thursday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer handed the president an invitation he described as "truly historic" and "unprecedented." The letter from King Charles III invited Trump to the UK for a second state visit. The BBC notes that second-term American presidents traditionally "are not offered a state visit and have instead been invited for tea or lunch with the monarch at Windsor Castle." In 2019, during his first term, Queen Elizabeth II invited Trump to Britain for a three-day state visit, which turned out to be the last of more than 110 state visits during her 70-year reign, Reuters reports.

In the letter, which Trump showed to cameras in the Oval Office, the king suggested that the state visit could be planned in an earlier meeting at Balmoral Castle if Trump visits his golf courses in Scotland and "a detour to a relatively near neighbor might not cause you too much inconvenience," the Guardian reports. Trump told Starmer he accepted the invitation and would travel to the UK with first lady Melania Trump. "We look forward to being there and honoring the king," he said. "Your country is a fantastic country, and it'll be our honor to be there." (More King Charles III stories.)