Growing calls to cancel President Donald Trump's state visit to Britain have put Queen Elizabeth II — who would host the U.S. president — in a difficult position.
FILE - In this May 25, 2017, file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, right, speaks to British Prime Minister Theresa May during in a working dinner meeting at the NATO headquarters during a NATO summit of heads of state and government in Brussels. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, Pool, File)
In Britain's constitutional monarchy, the queen invites foreign leaders to state visits — regarded as a great honor — on the advice of Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
In this case, it was the prime minister, Theresa May, who extended the invitation to Trump on the queen's behalf just days after Trump assumed office. While no date has yet been set for the visit, both governments say the state visit is still on.
It would be extremely awkward for the queen to rescind the invitation, and there is no indication the Foreign Office wishes her to do so.
Instead, a convenient delay is more likely — as suggested in Parliament Thursday.
Labour Party lawmaker Kevin Brennan said the 91-year-old queen has a busy year coming up with the anticipated birth of a new great-grandchild and the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in May.
"Don't those facts alone justify the government announcing a postponement of the state visit by the president of the United States for at least, say, three years?" he asked.
In the meantime, Trump could come to Britain for high level meetings on a trip that is not treated as a state visit, which is an event that follows well-scripted protocol.
It begins with the queen and other senior royals greeting the visitors for a ceremonial welcome, typically on Horse Guards Parade near Buckingham Palace.
In Trump's case, he and his wife Melania would typically inspect an honor guard before being taken to the palace in a carriage procession escorted by soldiers on horseback. Gun salutes would be fired by The King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery at Green Park and the Tower of London.
The highlight of a state visit is usually the banquet held the very first night in the Buckingham Palace Ballroom. The queen usually invites about 150 guests including business leaders, diplomats and cultural figures.
She begins with a toast to the visiting head of state, who replies with a toast to the queen before the formal meal is served. The menu often includes some of the queen's finest wines.
Former President Barack Obama made a state visit in 2011 with his wife Michelle. His other visits to Britain were not classified that way.
LONDON (AP) — The British government's plan for a landmark smoking ban that aims to stop young people from ever smoking cleared its first hurdle in Parliament on Tuesday despite vocal opposition from within Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party.
The bill, a key policy announced by Sunak last year, would make it illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born after January 1, 2009. If passed, the bill will give Britain some of the toughest anti-smoking measures in the world. Authorities say it will create modern Britain’s “first smoke-free generation.”
Under the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, children turning 15 this year or younger will never be legally sold tobacco. Once implemented — officials are aiming for 2027 — the legal age of sale that people in England can buy cigarettes will be raised by one year, every year until it is eventually illegal for the whole population.
The bill also includes measures to crack down on youth vaping, such as banning the sale of cheap disposable vapes and restricting their flavors to prevent children from becoming addicted to nicotine.
It is currently illegal for anyone to sell cigarettes or tobacco products and vapes to people under 18 years old throughout the U.K.
During the bill’s second reading late Tuesday, 383 lawmakers voted in favor while 67 opposed it after an afternoon of debate. Although the bill was widely praised by health experts and had the support of the opposition Labour Party, Sunak faced rebellion from more libertarian-minded members of his party, who criticized the proposals as “unconservative.”
Opponents, such as the smokers' rights lobbying group FOREST, said the move risks creating a black market and will “treat future generations of adults like kids.” Prominent voices within the Conservative Party, including two of Sunak's predecessors Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, said the plans went against conservative values by limiting people's personal freedoms.
The bill was a “virtue-signaling piece of legislation about protecting adults from themselves in the future," Truss told Parliament during Tuesday's debate.
Other high-profile Tories, including business secretary Kemi Badenoch, a Cabinet minister, also opposed the bill or abstained.
Conservative lawmakers were granted a free vote, meaning they could vote with their personal conscience rather than follow the official party line.
The plans were believed to have been inspired by similar policies proposed by New Zealand under former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, but the country's new coalition government repealed the bill earlier this year.
The government said that smoking won’t be criminalized, and the phased changes mean that anyone who can legally buy cigarettes now won’t be prevented from doing so in the future.
The number of people who smoke in the U.K. has declined by two-thirds since the 1970s, but some 6.4 million people in the country — or about 13% of the population — still smoke, according to official figures.
Authorities say smoking causes some 80,000 deaths a year in the U.K, and remains the number one preventable cause of death, disability and poor health.
A man smokes on a street, in London, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. A bold plan to ban anyone born after 2008 from ever legally buying cigarettes in Britain faces its first test in Parliament. The bold plan has divided the governing Conservatives, with some hailing its public health benefits and others condemning it as state overreach. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A woman smokes on a street, in London, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. A bold plan to ban anyone born after 2008 from ever legally buying cigarettes in Britain faces its first test in Parliament. The bold plan has divided the governing Conservatives, with some hailing its public health benefits and others condemning it as state overreach. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A woman smokes on a street, in London, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. A bold plan to ban anyone born after 2008 from ever legally buying cigarettes in Britain faces its first test in Parliament. The bold plan has divided the governing Conservatives, with some hailing its public health benefits and others condemning it as state overreach. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A woman smokes on a street, in London, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. A bold plan to ban anyone born after 2008 from ever legally buying cigarettes in Britain faces its first test in Parliament. The bold plan has divided the governing Conservatives, with some hailing its public health benefits and others condemning it as state overreach. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A man smokes on a street, in London, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. A bold plan to ban anyone born after 2008 from ever legally buying cigarettes in Britain faces its first test in Parliament. The bold plan has divided the governing Conservatives, with some hailing its public health benefits and others condemning it as state overreach. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A woman smokes on a street, in London, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. A bold plan to ban anyone born after 2008 from ever legally buying cigarettes in Britain faces its first test in Parliament. The bold plan has divided the governing Conservatives, with some hailing its public health benefits and others condemning it as state overreach. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
FILE - Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak meets students taking part in a personal development lesson as he visits Haughton Academy to outline plans for the banning of single use vapes, in Darlington, England, on Jan. 29, 2024. British lawmakers will on Tuesday April 16, 2024 debate and vote on the government's plans to introduce a landmark smoking ban that aims to stop young people from ever smoking. (Ian Forsyth/Pool Photo via AP, File)
A woman smokes on a street, in London, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. A bold plan to ban anyone born after 2008 from ever legally buying cigarettes in Britain faces its first test in Parliament. The bold plan has divided the governing Conservatives, with some hailing its public health benefits and others condemning it as state overreach. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A man smokes on a street, in London, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. A bold plan to ban anyone born after 2008 from ever legally buying cigarettes in Britain faces its first test in Parliament. The bold plan has divided the governing Conservatives, with some hailing its public health benefits and others condemning it as state overreach. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
