LONDON (Reuters) -British police said on Monday they had planned for “just about every foreseeable eventuality” ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s state visit this week.
Trump arrives in Britain on Tuesday for his unprecedented second state visit which starts the following day when he will be treated to the customary display of royal pageantry at Windsor Castle, including a carriage tour and a lavish banquet.
“This is a significant policing and security operation, as would be expected for a state visit of the President of the United States,” Assistant Chief Constable Christian Bunt of Thames Valley Police told reporters.
The royal part of Trump’s visit will be held at Windsor Castle to the west of London, the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world, having been a family home to British monarchs for almost 1,000 years.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will then host Trump on Thursday at his Chequers country residence.
The high-profile trip comes after last week’s killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, a staunch ally of Trump, fuelling fears of a spike in political violence in the United States.
Asked whether Kirk’s killing had influenced the policing operation for the visit, Bunt said their plans were kept under constant review.
“I’m very content that we have planned a very comprehensive policing and security operation that has taken into consideration just about every eventuality of what could happen,” he said.
Bunt added that the visit to Windsor and Chequers would be on private grounds, limiting the president’s exposure to the public.
(Reporting by Michael HoldenEditing by Gareth Jones)
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