The pomp and pageantry of U.S. President Donald Trump’s state visit to the U.K. are likely to offer a welcome distraction from the British government’s mounting troubles on the home front.
The visit, which kicks into full swing on Wednesday, when Trump and first lady Melania will be the guests of honor of King Charles III and Queen Camilla in Windsor, comes at a torrid time for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
In the last fortnight, Starmer’s Deputy Prime Minister and close ally Angela Rayner resigned after a house tax scandal, triggering a major cabinet reshuffle. Then, Starmer sacked the U.K.’s Ambassador to the U.S. Peter Mandelson over his links to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Over 100,000 people attended a mass protest in central London last weekend to voice their anger over seemingly uncontrollable immigration figures, and there are growing rumblings among lawmakers in Starmer’s own Labour Party over his ability to lead the country.
Against this backdrop, Starmer will be looking to make the most of the state visit, laying out the full splendor that Trump, an Anglophile and admirer of the Royal family, seems to relish.
