Macron might beat Trump to a UK state visit as Starmer govt navigates US-EU tussle: Report

French President Emmanuel Macron will reportedly be given a state visit to the UK before US President Donald Trump, whose trip is scheduled for September. According to The Sunday Times, Macron received an invitation from King Charles III to travel to the UK at the end of May.

The British newspaper reported that few government and royal officials are aware of the visit. It is pertinent to note that this will be Macron’s first state visit to the UK and the invitation came eight years after he took office.

Neither No.10 nor the French government has confirmed the state visit as of now. Earlier this year, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer charmed Trump after he extended the king’s invitation for a state visit. Trump will be the first head of a state to be honoured with a British state visit twice.

Trump to visit the UK in September

The report of Macron’s visit started to circulate, shortly after Trump suggested that Buckingham Palace was “setting a date for September” for him to meet the British monarch.

“They’re going to do a second, as you know, a second fest … that’s what it is: a fest, and it’s beautiful, and it’s the first time it’s ever happened to one person,” he said, gushing about why the visit would be monumental.

While meeting Trump in February, Starmer handed Trump what he described as a “truly historic” personal invitation from the King for a second state visit. Reports suggest that the venue of the meeting between Trump and Charles is expected to be Windsor Castle, rather than Balmoral or Dumfries House, as previously thought.

Macron’s visit is also reportedly expected to take place at Windsor due to refurbishment at Buckingham Palace. The reports are swirling at a time when Starmer has repeatedly insisted that he does not need to choose between pursuing a closer relationship with Europe and strengthening US-UK trade.

Meanwhile, the UK’s Chancellor Exchequer Rachel Reeves is expected to hold talks with her American counterparts next week, about the prospect of a wider economic agreement to alleviate the impact of Mr Trump’s 10 per cent tariffs on all goods entering America.