Much to the dislike of the majority of Brits, Donald Trump is currently on UK soil as part of an official visit. The president landed at Stanstead airport yesterday, and kicked off his trip with some rather questionable comments about Brexit before attending a dinner at Blenheim Palace with Prime Minister Theresa May.
Today, the former businessman is scheduled to meet the queen - something that is not at all unusual, given that Queen Elizabeth has met 10 of the 11 other presidents that have served during her reign. Lyndon B. Johnson was the only exception, as he only ever made state visits to Asia during his time in office.
However, none of Trump's predecessors were quite as outspoken as he is, especially when it comes to topics as sensitive as the royal family. And, given that the president has made some pretty questionable comments about Kate Middleton before, he might want to tread carefully around the British monarch.
Back in 2012, the president shared his opinions on leaked photos of the Duchess of Cambridge sunbathing while topless. He tweeted: "Kate Middleton is great - but she shouldn't be sunbathing in the nude - only herself to blame."
Essentially, he blamed her for being spied on. You'd think he might be a little more sympathetic, given that his wife's nude images (taken consensually) from her modelling days are often brought up to spite her, but apparently not. What's more, he doesn't ever seem to have apologised for those comments - and you can bet that the royal family is well aware of them.
However, when it comes to the queen herself, the president had only positive things to say when he spoke about her yesterday with The Sun newspaper.
"She is a tremendous woman. I really look forward to meeting her. I think she represents her country so well," he said. "If you think of it, for so many years she has represented her country, she has really never made a mistake. You don't see, like, anything embarrassing. She is just an incredible woman."
Regardless of how the queen or her family receive the president, though, it's fairly obvious that the British public is not too keen on him visiting the country. Indeed, a recent poll conducted by YouGov found that 77 per cent of Brits have an unfavourable view of the president, and almost half of the British public - 49 per cent - do not think that he should have been allowed to meet the queen.
As a result, huge protests are scheduled to take place across London today, with the main group of anti-Trump marchers in Westminster having brought along a huge inflatable Trump Baby balloon.
Trump himself is well aware of the distaste that the Brits have for him, and - despite saying that they "like him a lot" - he admitted that he feels "unwelcome" in the English capital.
"I guess when they put out blimps to make me feel unwelcome, no reason for me to go to London," he said. "I used to love London as a city. I haven’t been there in a long time. But when they make you feel unwelcome, why would I stay there?"
Of course, protestors have far more to be critical of than Trump's comments about Kate Middleton, but his statements will no doubt be weighing on the minds of anyone in the royal entourage who has to meet with the president today.
