With things rapidly going from bad to worse for the UK government, another red hot iron is about to be thrown into the fire - a visit from Donald J Trump.
The famously frank President is set to touch down in London on June 3 for a three-day visit to
US President Trump and First Lady due for state visit to UK amid leadership crisis
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US President Donald Trump, speaks during a news conference with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, at Akasaka Palace in Tokyo, Japan yesterday. Photo / AP
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Eight Conservative politicians have declared they are running for leadership of the party, which is also reeling from a drubbing at the European elections where it scored its worst ever result with less than 10 per cent of the vote. The major winner was Nigel Farage's newly formed Brexit party who has vowed to take on the government in a general election.
A visit from the candid President will have UK leaders on notice. On the eve of Trump's visit in July 2018 he humiliated May by declaring her Brexit strategy could "kill" the chances of a free-trade deal with the US.
"I would have done it much differently. I actually told Theresa May how to do it but she didn't agree, she didn't listen to me," he told the Sun at the time.
"I would actually say that she probably went the opposite way. And that is fine.
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"She should negotiate the best way she knows how. But it is too bad what is going on."
He has also said Theresa May's political rival and now leadership frontrunner Boris Johnson would "make a great prime minister". Trump has also said he hoped to emulate the success of "Mr Brexit" Nigel Farage during the presidential election and met with him shortly after his win in Trump Tower.
During the visit, Mr and Mrs Trump will receive a ceremonial welcome from the Queen, Prince Charles and Camilla at Buckingham Palace along with a private lunch that the Duke of Sussex is expected to attend.
Meghan Markle, who is on maternity leave with baby Archie, will not attend in what has been dubbed the "perfect excuse" to avoid a President she once dubbed "divisive" and "misogynistic".
The Queen will host a state banquet that the Duke of Duchess of Cambridge are expected to attend. The President and First Lady will also have tea with Prince Charles and Camilla at Clarence House and visit Westminster Abbey with the Duke of York.
The visit is expected to be marked by large protests in London, with organisers touting a "Together Against Trump" march joined by a range of groups.
The Stop Trump Coalition said the protest is about "sending a strong message that people in the UK don't accept the divisive right-wing policies that Trump stands for and that inviting him for a state visit is totally inappropriate".
The state visit has been marked by political debate ever since the invitation was extended in January 2017, with London mayor Sadiq Khan saying it should be withdrawn following a Twitter feud over terror attacks. Speaker of the UK House John Bercow has also said he does not think the US President should address the UK parliament.
The Queen has previously hosted a state visit for President Obama and Michelle Obama where the Obamas famously met Prince George in his dressing gown. They also made notable faux pas including talking over the Queen's speech and broke the Queen's "no touching" protocol.
Michelle Obama later addressed the moment she hugged the Queen in her memoir Becoming, where she said the two women bonded over standing around in high heels.
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"I confessed then to the Queen that my feet were hurting. She confessed that hers hurt, too. We looked at each other then with identical expressions, like, When is all this standing around with world leaders going to finally wrap up? And with this, she busted out with a fully charming laugh."
The state visit will take place on June 3-5 in the UK.
