Meghan to miss Donald Trump meeting during state visit
Written by News on 26/05/2019
The Duchess of Sussex will not join the rest of the Royal Family in welcoming Donald Trump to the UK for his state visit.
The Queen will be supported by other senior royals when she hosts the US president and his wife Melania over three days beginning on 3 June.
Prince Charles and Camilla will be two of those at the official ceremonial welcome being staged in Buckingham Palace’s garden, instead of the usual Horse Guards Parade venue in Whitehall.
The decision is likely to be due to security concerns.
Although Meghan will be missing, Prince Harry will be at the private palace lunch held on the first day of Mr Trump’s visit.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s son Archie will be less than four weeks old when the president arrives.
Meghan described Mr Trump as being “misogynistic” and “divisive” in a 2016 interview with a US television show.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will join the Queen, Charles and Camilla for a lavish state banquet at Buckingham Palace’s ballroom.
Leading figures from UK national life and prominent Americans in Britain will be in attendance.
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The US president will also have tea with the heir to the throne and his wife during the first day.
On the second day he will meet with Theresa May just a few days before she steps down as prime minister.
They will co-host a business breakfast meeting, attended by the Duke of York at St James’s Palace.
Mr Trump will then visit Downing Street to hold talks with the prime minister followed by a joint news conference.
That evening the Trumps will host a return dinner at Winfield House, the residence of the US ambassador, which Charles and Camilla will attend on behalf of the Queen.
The Queen and Charles will attend the national commemorative event for the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings at Southsea Common, Portsmouth, on 5 June.
More than 300 D-Day veterans will be at the ceremony which aims to tell the story of D-Day through musical performance, testimonial readings and military displays, including a fly-past of 25 modern and historical aircraft.
Mr Trump is reportedly bringing his grown-up children with him when he visits the UK – daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, both advisers to the president, along with her siblings Tiffany Trump, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump.
Mrs May hailed it as an opportunity for the UK and US “to strengthen our already close relationship” when the state visit was announced in April.
The White House said it would “reaffirm the steadfast and special relationship” between the two nations.
Confirmation of the trip was condemned at the time by shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry, who said the president had “systematically assaulted all the shared values that unite our two countries”.
Security around the visit is expected to be tight and the Stand Up To Trump organisation has pledged to mobilise large numbers to protest against it.
(c) Sky News 2019: Meghan to miss Donald Trump meeting during state visit
