Donald Trump state visit: Likely date of President's UK trip revealed

US President Donald Trump's UK state visit seems likely to take place this autumn after Buckingham Palace announced the King of Spain would make an official trip to Britain in June.

There has been much speculation over when the new American leader would travel to Britain, with some reports claiming the trip had been moved from June to the end of the year in the hope of avoiding a wave of protests.

The announcement from the Palace now strongly points towards an October visit by Mr Trump.

Buckingham Palace said in a short statement: "King Felipe VI, accompanied by Queen Letizia of Spain, has accepted an invitation from the Queen to pay a state visit to the United Kingdom from 6th to 8th June 2017.

"The King and Queen of Spain will stay at Buckingham Palace."

Spain's monarch was due to make a state visit to the UK in March last year but this was postponed due to a political crisis in his country.

Prime Minister Theresa May announced the US president was being given the honour of a state visit, during which he will be hosted by the Queen, when she became the first international leader to visit Mr Trump after his inauguration.

Despite 1.8 million people signing an online petition calling for Mr Trump not to make a state visit, as it would cause embarrassment to the Queen, the Government said last month that the visit would go ahead.

The Sun newspaper reported last week that a senior government source had said: "Trump still really wants to come this year, but he wants the heat to die down a bit first."

The paper claimed a provisional slot for the visit has been pencilled in from October 5 to 8.

Press Association