London - United States President Barack Obama will make a state visit to Britain in May at the invitation of Queen Elizabeth, Buckingham Palace said on Thursday.
Obama will be accompanied by his wife, Michelle, on the May 24-26 visit when they will stay at Buckingham Palace, the queen's residence in London.
The White House simultaneously confirmed the visit, which will be Obama's first European state visit.
The trip was “a sign of the strength of the special relationship between our two countries and of the United States' enduring commitment to its European and Nato allies and partners,” White House spokesperson Jay Carney said.
It is the first state visit to Britain by a US president since George W. Bush in November 2003. Some 100 000 demonstrators turned out in London to protest against Bush's visit, which took place soon after the Iraq war.
Only one or two leaders make a state visit to Britain each year for a stay marked by pomp, military guards of honour and formal banquets.
Obama will visit less than a month after Queen Elizabeth's grandson, Prince William, second-in-line to the British throne, marries Kate Middleton on April 29 at Westminster Abbey in London.
Obama has already met Queen Elizabeth, taking tea with her while in London for the G20 summit in 2009. The queen has struck up a warm relationship with Michelle Obama, according to royal sources.
When Mrs Obama made a private visit to the British capital in June 2009 with daughters Malia and Sasha, they were given a private three-hour tour of Buckingham Palace, including a meeting with the queen.
The 84-year-old monarch has met many US presidents during her 59-year reign.
President Dwight Eisenhower visited her at Balmoral Castle in 1959, President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline dined with her at Buckingham Palace in 1961 and President Richard Nixon had lunch with her at Buckingham Palace in 1969.
Britain and the United States are close allies and Britain prizes its so-called “special relationship” with the superpower.
But there have been some strains in the relationship recently, particularly over Scottish authorities' release in 2009 of a Libyan convicted in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.
Prime Minister David Cameron, in power for nine months, said the Scottish government's decision to release Abdel Basset al-Megrahi had been the wrong one. - Reuters