Donald Trump demanded to stay in Buckingham Palace during a state visit despite being told that the royal household was under extensive renovations.
President Trump was first invited for a formal state visit by the Queen in January 2017, but it was not until the summer of 2019 that he took up the offer.
As the trip was being organised, White House aides told Downing Street that it was ‘critically important’ that Mr Trump was allowed to stay overnight in Buckingham Palace, The Daily Telegraph reported.
US President Donald Trump reportedly demanded an overnight stay at Buckingham Palace during his state visit to the UK in the summer of 2019 (above)
Mr Trump, who brought his wife Melania on the visit, was first invited for a formal state visit by the Queen in January 2017, but he did not take up the offer until the summer of 2019
The White House were told that Buckingham Palace (above) was under renovation, with some royal household members being moved out, but Mr Trump reportedly still asked to stay overnight
Mr Trump was set to bring his wife Melania as well as his four adult children Ivanka, Donald Jr, Eric and Tiffany on the state visit.
Sources claimed that the President expected the same treatment as his predecessor Barack Obama, who was welcomed to an overnight stay at the Palace with his wife Michelle during his state visit in 2003.
But Buckingham Palace was under renovation during Mr Trump’s visit in June 2019, with even some royal household members being moved out during the extensive works.
Yet Mr Trump reportedly still demanded a stay at the Palace, despite entire areas of the building having been closed off.
This led Downing Street aides to request a room-by-room breakdown of refurbishment plans to accommodate Mr Trump’s request but it ultimately failed.
One UK official told The Daily Telegraph: ‘It was very, very clear Trump loved the Queen. He wanted to spend as much time as possible with the Queen and to stay at Buckingham Palace.
Sources claimed Mr Trump expected the same treatment as his predecessor Barack Obama, who was welcomed to an overnight stay at the Palace with his wife Michelle during his state visit in 2003
Mr Trump instead stayed stayed in Winfield House, the US ambassador’s residence in Regent’s Park, during his state visit but there were concerns the nearby mosque would wake the President in the morning
Mr Trump had met the Queen for tea at Windsor Castle a year before his state visit in 2019 and reportedly wanted to spend time with the Queen at Buckingham Palace on his trip (above)
‘We went to the point of saying to the palace, ‘Can you tell us which rooms are undergoing refurbishment?’ It was properly looked into. The last thing we wanted was a snub story coming out. But it couldn’t work.’
Mr Trump had met the Queen for tea at Windsor Castle a year earlier, during his first trip to Britain as president.
The President instead stayed in Winfield House, the US ambassador’s residence in Regent’s Park, during his anticipated state visit.
But there will still concerns ‘Regent’s Park Mosque would wake him up in the morning’, one White House adviser told The Daily Telegraph.
There were also fears that Mr Trump would have a ‘hissy fit’ if he saw the protesters opposing his visit and would blame the UK officials he worked with to prevent that.
When outlining security concerns of putting Mr Trump near the crowds, the source said: ‘He would blame the UK government. He’d engage in a really nasty way, in a way that would end up blowing the entire relationship.
‘You’ve seen him have a hissy fit with Justin Trudeau [the Canadian prime minister] and other leaders.’
And other White House advisors still feared Mr Trump would believe that he was getting less than his predecessors on the state visit, leading them to create an in-depth spreadsheet.
The document reportedly detailed modern US presidents who were offered UK state visits, including predecessors Mr Obama and George W Bush.
Lengthy details of each trip were logged, allowing advisors to compare the trips if Mr Trump asked.
The duration of the visits, if there was a parade and what dinner was served were all detailed for the advisors.
The document was reportedly requested by the offices of the First Lady and the President’s chief of staff, one ex-White House source told The Daily Telegraph.
During the President’s state visit, he was taken to Sandhurst, where British Army officers are trained, and a staged hostage rescue for UK and US special forces was put on.
Soldiers descended from helicopters by rope and deployed fake gunfire, something Mr Trump enjoyed watching from the live bodycam footage of those involved.
He was also taken to Chequers, where he sat and appeared to pose like former prime minister Winston Churchill for a photograph.
The image was tweeted by his press secretary Sarah Sanders but any comparison between the leaders was rejected by British tabloids.
Mr Trump, who greatly admires Churchill, was given a bust of the wartime prime minister by James Spencer-Churchill, the 12th Duke of Marlborough and a distant relative of Churchill during the visit.
Mr Trump attend the D-day 75 Commemorations with the Queen during his June 2019 state visit (above) and was also taken to Sandhurst, where British army soldiers are trained, and Chequers, the country home of the Prime Minister
There were also fears from White House advisors that Mr Trump would have a ‘hissy fit’ if he saw the crowds of protesters opposing his visit (above) and would blame the UK government
Protesters gathered next to a giant balloon mocking the US President during anti-Trump demonstrations outside the Houses of Parliament during the second day of Mr Trump’s three-day visit to the UK on June 4, 2019
Mr Trump, who has Scottish ancestry and owns two golf courses in Scotland, was also said to be shocked at the prospect of Scotland leaving the UK.
One former White House advisor claimed he said ‘but then it wouldn’t be the British Open’, referring to the oldest golf tournament in the world.
Mr Trump’s first visit to the UK in 2018 was almost overshadowed after he openly disparaging the then-prime minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal during an interview with The Sun.
He warned that if the UK remained close to the EU in May’s proposed soft Brexit plans, it would probably ‘kill’ any future trade deal with the US.
Mrs May confronted Trump about his comments during talks at Chequers on his UK visit, leading the US President to issue a rare personal apology for the incident.
Britain’s former ambassador to the US Lord Darroch blames Boris Johnson for his resignation after explosive memos which described President Trump as ‘inept’ and ‘incompetent’ were leaked
By Lizzie Deane for the Daily Mail
Britain’s former ambassador to the United States has attacked Boris Johnson, claiming he was partly to blame for his resignation after disparaging comments he made about President Trump were leaked.
Lord Darroch has claimed the Prime Minister helped force his abrupt exit from his role as the Britain’s most important diplomat when he was under attack from Mr Trump.
In July last year the Mail on Sunday revealed Lord Darroch, then Sir Kim Darroch, had described the President as ‘inept’, ‘insecure’ and ‘incompetent’ in a series of explosive memos.
In secret cables and briefing notes Lord Darroch warned London that the White House was ‘uniquely dysfunctional’ and that the President’s career could end in ‘disgrace’.
Lord Darroch has claimed the Prime Minister helped force his abrupt exit from his role as the Britain’s most important diplomat when he was under attack from Mr Trump
After the leak, Mr Johnson, then running for the Conservative leadership, repeatedly refused to say that he would keep him in post during a TV debate, in contrast to his opponent Jeremy Hunt.
In an interview with The Times, Lord Darroch said he later told Mr Johnson that he was in part to blame after the Prime Minister questioned why he had quit.
He said: ‘He sounded just like Boris Johnson sounds — starting and then restarting sentences. Very Boris. He said: ‘But why did you resign? Wouldn’t it all have blown over after a few weeks?’
Lord Darroch said he later told Mr Johnson that he was in part to blame after the Prime Minister questioned why he had quit
In answer to Mr Johnson’s question as to whether the resignation was his fault, he told him that ‘in part it was’.
It comes as Mr Trump’s then national security adviser John Bolton claims the President ordered him to get Lord Darroch ‘out of here’ after the comments came to light.
Mr Bolton told The Daily Telegraph that after receiving the Mr Trump’s instructions he rang the Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill and told him ‘things are going to get worse unless you can figure out how to get him out’.
It comes as Mr Trump’s then national security adviser John Bolton claims the President ordered him to get Lord Darroch ‘out of here’ after the comments came to light