Donald Trump visit: US President lays wreath at tomb of The Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey in honour of fallen British soldiers
DONALD Trump has today paid tribute to Britain's fallen Tommies at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior during his historic state visit.
The US President laid a wreath in memory of millions of brave soldiers who lost their lives as part of of his three-day tour ahead of the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
The President and First Lady attended a brief service with officials from the Abbey, before they were shown around by the Dean.
The couple had a short tour that included seeing the graves of Charles Darwin and Professor Stephen Hawking.
And they were set to view Henry VII's Lady Chapel and the tomb of Mary Queen of Scots.
Before departing the Abbey the President and First Lady were invited to sign the guestbook, which also features signatures from President Barack Obama in 2011, and President George W.Bush in 2003.
Mr Trump wrote: "Thank you so much. This has been a great honor. Special place."
The Queen's son Prince Andrew accompanied him to Westminster Abbey this afternoon for the memorial.
The Royal church in the centre of Westminster was the setting of Prince William and Kate's marriage back in 2011.
On the first day of Mr Trump's visit to Britain:
- The President launched a furious rant at London Mayor Sadiq Khan - who hit back calling Mr Trump "far right"
- He also hit out at US network CNN after arriving at the ambassador's house
- Mr Trump had a long chat with Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt on the tarmac at Stansted, just days after he said he "liked" the Tory leadership hopeful
- Melania wore a beautiful £650 red, white and blue blouse printed with war medals in a touching tribute ahead of D-Day
- It emerged Mr Trump WON'T have a one-on-one meeting with lame duck PM Theresa May
Beneath this stone rests the body
Of a British warrior
Unknown by name or rank
Brought from France to lie among
The most illustrious of the land
And buried here on Armistice Day
11 Nov 1920, in the presence of
His Majesty King George V
His ministers of state
The chiefs of his forces
And a vast concourse of the nation
Thus are commemorated the many
Multitudes who during the Great
War of 1914-1918 gave the most that
Man can give life itself
For God
For King and country
For loved ones home and empire
For the sacred cause of justice and
The freedom of the world
They buried him among the kings because he
Had done good toward God and toward
His house
Around the main inscription are four texts:
(top) The Lord knowrth them that are his
(sides) Greater love hath no man than this
Unknown and yet well known, dying and behold we live
(base) In Christ shall all be made alive
Earlier he was today met with an 82-gun salute as he touched down at Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen.
The President and his family were greeted with full pomp and ceremony when his helicopter landed on the lawn this afternoon.
They then went on to view items in a display at the Royal Collection after a private lunch with his wife, Melania.
Meanwhile Prince Harry was spotted in the background showing the junior Royals around too.
But Meghan Markle will stay at home with baby Archie in Windsor rather than joining other royals.
Prince Charles and Camilla greeted Mr Trump and his wife Melania at Her Majesty's official residence in London.
They then led the First Couple across the lawn of the palace garden to where the Queen was waiting for them.
A full military escort met the President on the Buckingham Palace lawn, before soldiers fired off 82 rounds - 41 in honour of Mr Trump, and another 41 to mark the anniversary of the Queen's coronation.
Soldiers from the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery led 71 horses, pulling six WW1-era 13-pounder field guns, into place, to fire 82 blank artillery rounds at ten-second intervals.
The two leaders then inspected a line-up of the Grenadier Guards as the band played The Star-Spangled Spanner and God Save The Queen.
The President and Mrs Trump were walked from the Buckingham Palace balcony by his daughter Ivanka, a key White House adviser, and her husband Jared Kushner.
He landed at Stansted airport this morning at around 9am for a three-day trip, having already humiliated outgoing PM Theresa May over Brexit.
Ahead of his landing he began tweeting insults at Sadiq Khan, calling him a "stone cold loser" and urging him to "focus on crime in London, not me".
He added: "Kahn (sic) reminds me very much of our very dumb and incompetent Mayor of NYC, de Blasio, who has also done a terrible job - only half his height.
"In any event, I look forward to being a great friend to the United Kingdom, and am looking very much forward to my visit. Landing now!"
President Trump was greeted at the airport with a military welcome from the Royal Air Force - giving them a salute as he walked past.
He then reached out for wife Melania's hand as he guided her away from Air Force One.
Mr Hunt said after the pair talked: "I said to him that we're going to put on a great show for him, because America is our greatest ally."
And he added: "He didn't exactly say he was going to be inviting Sadiq Khan for the Royal treatment at the White House anytime soon."
Also waiting for him as he got off the plane were US ambassador Woody Johnson, the Lord-Lieutenant of Essex Jennifer Tolhurst, representing the Queen, and senior police officers.
A body language expert said the President and the Queen showed "undeniable warmth" when they met while Prince Charles tried to position himself as boss in the relationship.
Judi James told The Sun: "There were undeniable signals of warmth between Trump and the Queen and she was even seen chuckling happily as she waited on the steps of the palace.
"Prince Charles looked less assured as he walked out to host Trump, fiddling, patting and using self-comfort checking rituals that implied quite high levels of anxiety."
Tomorrow is earmarked for political activities as Mr Trump visits 10 Downing Street for talks and a joint press conference with Mrs May - despite the fact she's leaving office within weeks.
The PM will give the President a tour of the famous Churchill War Rooms, buried beneath Westminster, with leading historians who will explain the significance of the space.
But today it emerged the two leaders won't have any one-on-one meetings without aides present, unlike on most official trips.
No10 insisted the pair will engage in serious political discussions.
Donald Trump gave a wave as he got off Air Force One with wife Melania this morning
Before even boarding Air Force One back in the US, Trump praised Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage and suggested he may meet them both.
But when asked whether he would be meeting Mr Khan, Trump couldn’t resist hitting out again at his long-time critic.
“No, I don’t think much of him," Trump replied. "I think he’s, he’s the twin of [Bill] de Blasio, except shorter.”
Like 5ft 6in Khan, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has a hate-hate relationship with the president.
A spokesperson for the Mayor said this morning: "This is much more serious than childish insults which should be beneath the President of the United States."
They also said he was an example of a "growing far-right threat around the globe".
TRUMP BACKS BORIS
It comes after Trump made an unprecedented intervention by backing Boris Johnson as the next PM.
While stopping short of offering his full endorsement, Trump told The Sun: “It’s something that I find very interesting.
“I actually have studied it very hard. I know the different players.
“But I think Boris would do a very good job. I think he would be excellent.”
He said he expected to meet with Johnson in London as he left the White House on Sunday evening.
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