Image copyright Reuters 
 
 Donald Trump's state visit to the UK is in fresh doubt after there was no mention of it in the Queen's Speech. 
 
 The US president accepted the Queen's invitation for him to travel to Britain when Prime Minister Theresa May visited Washington in January. 
 
 There have been reports that Mr Trump has changed his mind and does not want to visit while there is potential for protests against him. 
 
 But a Trump official told the BBC: "The two governments are discussing dates." 
 
 Number 10 said the Queen had not mentioned the visit because no date had been set. 
 
 Wednesday's Queen's Speech at the State Opening of Parliament saw the monarch announce the government's legislative programme for the next two years. 
 
 The Queen also uses the speech to set out her official plans for the year. 
 
 She said she looked forward to welcoming King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain for their state visit in July, and hosting the Commonwealth summit in April next year. 
 
 But there was no word about Mr Trump's state visit. October had been suggested as a possible date. 
 
 Brexit bills at heart of Queen's Speech 
 
 Bill-by-bill guide: Queen's Speech 
 
 Queen's Speech reflects weaker May 
 
 A Downing Street spokesman said: "An invitation has been extended and accepted. 
 
 "The visit wasn't mentioned in the Queen's Speech because a date hasn't been fixed yet." 
 
 In his last statement on the issue, White House spokesman Sean Spicer had said: "Her Majesty extended an invitation to the president. He's accepted that invitation. And we look forward to scheduling that trip. 
 
 "There is nothing that was scheduled and we look forward to working out a mutually acceptable date with the United Kingdom, and look forward to sharing that date." 
 
 Analysis 
 
 Image copyright PA 
 
 By James Landale, diplomatic correspondent 
 
 There is a very good reason for that date not being set. That is because there are concerns within the White House that if Donald Trump came to the UK, there would be some substantial protests. 
 
 There is also a concern within the British government that it would not help US-UK relations if the US president was embarrassed. 
 
 It is very unlikely he will be coming this year. 
 
 This government has only so much bandwidth, that trying to work out precisely when they are going to have a visit from the US president, particularly if he is having cold feet, is something I imagine they will say to put on the back burner for a bit. 
 
 When the invitation was first made by Theresa May on behalf of the Queen, there was a lot of concern that she had jumped the gun and gone too fast on this - to give a new US president the offer of a full state visit was a little premature. 
 
 Normally that kind of offer does not come until well into the presidency. It quite often happens in a president's second term - if re-elected - and not all US presidents get full state visits. 
 
 So the fact that it is going to be delayed will not come as a huge disappointment to many people who thought it was a little bit too much, too early. ||||| London (CNN) What -- or in this case, who -- was conspicuously absent from the Queen's Speech to Parliament? US President Donald Trump. 
 
 Trump's planned state visit to the UK -- announced by British Prime Minister Theresa May earlier this year -- was not mentioned by Queen Elizabeth II in her speech at the opening of Parliament on Wednesday, prompting further speculation over whether the trip will happen at all. 
 
 May offered up the state visit during a bilateral meeting with the US President shortly after his inauguration. State visits are typically characterized by pomp and ceremony, and generally include a banquet with the Queen. 
 
 The invitation has proved to be incredibly controversial in Britain, where over 1.8 million people signed a petition seeking to block Trump's trip over fears that it would "cause embarrassment to Her Majesty the Queen." 
 
 Earlier this month, UK media reports suggested the US President had told Prime Minister May that he would not visit due to a lack of public support in Britain. Those reports were later denied by the White House 
 
 British newspaper the Guardian reported that Trump had revealed his unease about the visit during a conversation with May, citing a Downing Street adviser who was in the room. 
 
 A senior Trump administration source denied that the subject came up when Trump and May spoke in the aftermath of the British general election. 
 
 Following the omission on Wednesday, a senior Trump administration official told CNN: "She didn't mention (the visit) because the date is not yet set." 
 
 A Downing Street spokesperson told CNN there was "no change" in their position on the state visit. 
 
 "The invitation for the state visit has been extended and it wasn't mentioned in the speech as no date has been decided upon yet," the Number 10 spokesperson said. 
 
 The Queen did mention one forthcoming state visit -- that of King Felipe of Spain in July. 
 
 While Wednesday's speech is being used by some as an indication that a Trump state visit is off the cards, recent history could indicate otherwise. ||||| U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed visit to the U.K. later this year was conspicuous by its absence from Queen Elizabeth II’s speech setting out the program for Prime Minister Theresa May’s government. 
 
 Despite Trump accepting an invitation for a state visit during the premier’s visit to Washington in January, the queen only said she and her husband Prince Philip “look forward to welcoming” the king and queen of Spain in July. State visits have traditionally been announced by the monarch in her speeches to Parliament. 
 
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 There were protests after Trump was invited so soon after his inauguration, and May said on June 6 that the president was “wrong” to criticize London Mayor Sadiq Khan over his response to the London Bridge terrorist attack that killed eight people. Trump used Twitter to accuse Khan of being “pathetic,” in contrast to May saying that the mayor, a member of the opposition Labour Party, was “doing a good job.” 
 
 Britain is trying to persuade Trump to sign a post-Brexit trade deal. While his predecessor Barack Obama said Britain would be “at the back of the queue” if it voted to leave the European Union, Trump initially promised a quick deal with the U.K. before appearing to prioritize an agreement with the bloc it is leaving. 
 
 Police Planning 
 
 Former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said in February that the visit would take place in June and the force was preparing for “lots of protests.” That was before May called the June 8 election that cost her Conservative Party its parliamentary majority and a fire in a London apartment block that killed dozens and led to anti-government protests on the streets. 
 
 The prospect of Trump being greeted with demonstrations was only one aspect of planning for the proposed visit by the head of state of a crucial ally to Britain. The speaker of the House of Commons also made it clear that he would not be allowed to address Parliament. 
 
 “I feel very strongly our opposition to racism and to sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons,” John Bercow said when explaining his decision in February. 
 
 Asked about the state visit earlier this month, the London mayor said: “I don’t think we should be rolling out the red carpet to the president of the USA in the circumstances where his policies go against everything we stand for.” 
 
 Khan said Britain’s relationship with the U.S. should be like a close friendship: “You stand with them in times of adversity and call them out when they’re wrong and there are many things about which Donald Trump is wrong.” 
 
 The absence of Trump’s visit from the speech is a far cry from the way the invitation was announced in the early days of his presidency. 
 
 “I have today been able to convey Her Majesty the Queen’s hope that President Trump and the First Lady would pay a state visit to the United Kingdom later this year and I’m delighted that the president has accepted that invitation,” May said in a press conference in the White House in January. 
 
 James Slack, May’s spokesman, told reporters after the speech on Wednesday that the lack of a reference to Trump’s visit doesn’t mean it won’t go ahead. 
 
 “The reason it’s not included today is because a firm date hasn’t been fixed,” he said. “But the invitation has been extended and accepted.” ||||| LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May promised on Wednesday to listen more closely to business concerns about Britain leaving the European Union as she set out a Brexit-focused government program, pared back to reflect her weakened authority. 
 
 Chastened by an election which left her Conservative Party short of a majority in parliament and reopened debate on the nature of Britain’s EU exit, May also sidelined reform on social care, education and corporate governance. 
 
 May’s two-year program, known as the Queen’s Speech and prepared by ministers, was read out by Queen Elizabeth at parliament’s opening ceremony. She has yet to secure a deal with Northern Ireland’s DUP party to prop up her government. 
 
 The queen told lawmakers from both the upper and lower houses of parliament that the government is committed to building “the widest possible consensus” on Brexit, working with parliament, devolved administrations, business and others. 
 
 “My government’s priority is to secure the best possible deal as the country leaves the European Union,” the queen said. 
 
 The traditionally ceremonial address, usually dominated by pageantry, was a crucial testing ground for May’s ability to run the country during its most challenging period for generations. 
 
 Her authority has been badly damaged just as Britain begins Brexit negotiations. Four militant attacks have raised questions about her grip on national security, and the death of at least 79 people in a tower block fire has become a flashpoint for public anger at her party’s record in government. 
 
 “The election result was not the one I hoped for, but this government will respond with humility and resolve to the message the electorate sent,” May said in remarks introducing the policy plan. 
 
 “First, we need to get Brexit right. That means getting a deal which delivers the result of last year’s referendum and does so in a way that commands maximum public support.” 
 
 The shift to a more consultative tack drew a cautious welcome from business groups, which worry that May’s plan focuses more on controlling immigration than protecting the economy. 
 
 Her new approach will be tested almost immediately, when she travels to Brussels on Thursday for a summit of EU leaders. 
 
 Lawmakers will have to approve the speech in a vote, expected on June 29, that will be a de facto vote of confidence. Minority governments are a rare occurrence in British parliamentary politics where the electoral system usually produces a governing majority. 
 
 May is under increasing pressure to do a deal with the DUP (Democratic Unionist Party) to support her government after nearly two weeks of talks. 
 
 Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour Party, whose surprisingly strong election performance damaged May, called the speech “thin gruel”. He said the government was ignoring the need for important domestic reforms to promote social justice. 
 
 “A threadbare legislative program from a government that has lost its majority and apparently run out of ideas altogether,” he told parliament. 
 
 The Queen delivered the speech in a toned-down ceremony that dispensed with a horse-drawn procession to parliament, and she swapped her crown for a blue hat. The changes to the ceremony were planned and due to a lack of rehearsal time. 
 
 She was accompanied by Prince Charles after her 96-year-old husband, Philip, was taken to hospital with an infection. 
 
 BREXIT FOCUS 
 
 As London sweltered in unseasonably hot weather, about 250 protesters gathered outside parliament after the speech, blaming the deadly fire in west London on years of Conservative cuts and demanding the fall of May’s government. 
 
 May apologized for the government’s inadequate response to that fire and acknowledged the country faced “difficult times”. 
 
 Britain's Queen Elizabeth sits next to Prince Charles during the State Opening of Parliament in central London, Britain June 21, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Rousseau/Pool 
 
 “Not every problem can be solved by an act of parliament,” she said. “Our response to disaster and acts of terror which take the lives of innocent people must be this: compassion, unity, resolve.” 
 
 The legislative program spelt out a Brexit-dominated set of policies and indicated May was keen to secure broad support for leaving the EU - a change in tone from the strident approach she set out before the June 8 election. 
 
 “While this will be a government that consults and listens, we are clear that we are going to see Brexit through, working with parliament, business, the devolved administrations and others to ensure a smooth and orderly withdrawal,” she said. 
 
 A briefing document issued alongside the speech said the government would consult more closely with businesses and other interested parties to “test and validate positions and to continue to build support from the business community as we move forward”. 
 
 “This welcome change in tone needs to be backed by clarity and action now,” the Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry lobby group, Carolyn Fairbairn, said. 
 
 “Firms will expect all politicians to put pragmatism before politics, starting with Brexit,” she said. 
 
 Manufacturers’ group EEF said industry needed more information on how the benefits of the EU’s single market and customs union would be maintained throughout Britain’s exit. 
 
 “There must be a much closer partnership with industry if we’re to avoid economic chaos when we leave the EU,” EEF Chief Executive Terry Scuoler said. 
 
 May’s program for government was largely restricted to the technical work of making sure Brexit can happen: a bill that sets out how the government will transpose huge swathes of EU law into British law and separate bills on related topics such as immigration, customs and fisheries. 
 
 Beyond Brexit, the plan included a promise to pay more attention to public concerns about austerity, but did not alter the government’s commitment to bring down the budget deficit. 
 
 It also outlined plans to allow sectors such as electric vehicles and satellite technology to maintain a competitive edge, as well as promising to deliver an industrial strategy that spread prosperity across the country. 
 
 Slideshow (14 Images) 
 
 May’s plans will need the support of Northern Ireland’s DUP, which is expected to use its 10 votes to back her in exchange for more funding to the province, policies geared toward boosting its economy and assurances that Brexit will not cut it off from the neighboring Irish Republic. 
 
 But that deal has yet to be announced, and on Tuesday the DUP said the talks were not going as was expected. The party should not be taken for granted, it said. ||||| HM Government recognises the strong views expressed by the many signatories of this petition, but does not support this petition. 
 
 During her visit to the United States on 27 January 2017, the Prime Minister, on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen, invited President Trump for a State Visit to the UK later this year. The invitation was accepted. This invitation reflects the importance of the relationship between the United States of America and the United Kingdom. At this stage, final dates have not yet been agreed for the State Visit. 
 
 Foreign and Commonwealth Office ||||| Address covering state visits for next two years refers to welcoming Spanish king and queen in July, but not US president 
 
 The Queen’s speech has given a further indication that Donald Trump’s planned state visit to the UK has been put on hold, after the monarch did not mention it in her address. 
 
 The speech usually mentions any state visits planned for the duration of the parliament. Speaking on Wednesday, the Queen said she and Prince Philip “look forward to welcoming their majesties King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain on a state visit in July”. 
 
 However, it did not mention the visit of Trump, initially planned for this summer after Theresa May invited him on behalf of the Queen when she visited the US president in Washington DC in January, shortly after he took office. 
 
 This Queen’s speech is intended to herald a parliament lasting two years, rather than the usual one, indicating that no date for Trump’s visit has been scheduled for the near future. 
 
 The visit would be controversial, given Trump’s policies and provocative use of social media, such as when he misquoted and berated the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, after the London Bridge attack. A number of groups have promised to protest if the visit goes ahead. 
 
 The Guardian reported earlier this month that Trump had told May he did not want to go ahead with the state visit until the British public supported it. 
 
 The comments, made in a phone call, would seem to put the visit on hold indefinitely. At the time, the White House said the subject “never came up on the call”. 
 
 Downing Street has refused to comment, saying only that the invitation remained unchanged. 
 
 
 
 And Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the deputy White House press secretary, denied that the Queen’s speech indicated that the state visit had been cancelled. 
 
 “That is not what she said. She only talked about visits with confirmed dates and we do not yet have a confirmed date,” Sanders said. 
 
 After the London Bridge attack, Trump tweeted: “At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack, and Mayor of London says there is ‘no reason to be alarmed!’” 
 
 He was referring to Khan saying there was no reason to be alarmed by an increased police presence in the city the following day. 
 
 A spokesman for Khan said the mayor had “more important things to do than respond to Donald Trump’s ill-informed tweet that deliberately takes out of context his remarks”. ||||| Theresa May had her first Queen's Speech today, but she was somewhat upstaged by the monarch and her colourful - and curious - hat. 
 
 Some claimed the speech was flimsy and light on policy, with many of the Conservative manifesto pledges scrapped after Mrs May lost her majority in the general election. 
 
 And with Brexit looming big on the horizon - and featuring at the heart of the Prime Minister's proposals for government - some thought the Queen herself was making a bold statement in Parliament by wearing a cheerful yellow and blue hat. 
 
 Eagle-eyed social media users quickly spotted that her hat bore a striking resemblance to the EU flag: ||||| In a pared-down ceremony – though her crown got its own car – the Queen seemed to wave goodbye to the EU via her outfit 
 
 Is today the Queen’s Damascene moment? We only ask because today, as she opened parliament and laid out the government’s intention to deliver the eight bills necessary for Brexit, the Queen – long thought to be a Brexiteer – wore a hat that bore a strong resemblance to the European Union flag. 
 
 The hat itself was glorious. A shade of papal purple, with yellow flowers, she wore it with a matching day-coat and dress in a print not a world away from Balenciaga’s spring/summer 2017 inkjet floral print dress. Jolly, informal, was it a deeply coded outfit, or simply Instagram-friendly? Was she throwing shade at the Brexit negotiations or referencing Van Gogh’s Starry Night? Is this royal purple or Lanvin lilac? And so on. Given the Queen’s compulsory nonpartisan role in the Brexit negotiations, the hat remains riddled with ambiguity. 
 
 Elsewhere, in what was described as a pared-down ceremony (the first state opening with “reduced ceremonial elements” since 1974), the Queen may have signalled other visual protests: arriving in a car rather than a carriage; omitting the royal procession into the House of Lords chamber and, most notably, wearing a “day dress” rather than robes. The official reason was that the snap election meant there was a clash with other royal pageants, meaning there was not time for rehearsal. Last week, the Queen’s decision to wave aside concerns about security to meet locals after the Grenfell Tower fire – when Theresa May failed to do the same – made the PM look cowardly. Given May’s failure to secure a majority and the shambles of the past few weeks, this outfit could be interpreted as some serious shade. 
 
 The pomp and protocol surrounding the state opening of parliament is always ludicrous, but this year feels more at odds with what is happening in the real world than ever. As the government grips tightly to austerity, the Queen’s crown gripped tightly to a cushion as it was driven, as if sentient, to parliament in its own car. 
 
 It is the Queen’s job to remain politically impartial, to rise above the fray – she cannot vote. The Telegraph claims that the Queen was pro-Brexit, based on a rumour that she said Britain should “just get on with” leaving the EU at a private lunch before the referendum. But this is hearsay. The difficulty arises when it’s someone’s job to remain silent yet that person represents so much (tradition, continuity, power) that any little semaphore will be jumped on, regardless of its veracity. 
 
 
 
 We should remain measured on the topic. Today is arguably the biggest day in the Queen’s sartorial calendar – she will later go to Ascot, and wear something equally Snapchattable. As to whether today will be known as the day she sidestepped impartiality to make a silent protest with her hat, we’ll probably never know. But we can have fun with some memes. 
 
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 The links are powered by Skimlinks. By clicking on an affiliate link, you accept that Skimlinks cookies will be set. More information. ||||| US president told Theresa May he did not want trip to go ahead if there were large-scale public protests • Support our journalism by becoming a Guardian supporter or making a contribution 
 
 Donald Trump has told Theresa May in a phone call he does not want to go ahead with a state visit to Britain until the British public supports him coming. 
 
 The US president said he did not want to come if there were large-scale protests and his remarks in effect put the visit on hold for some time. 
 
 The Guardian view on Trump’s state visit to the UK: his invitation should be rescinded | Editorial Read more 
 
 The call was made in recent weeks, according to a Downing Street adviser who was in the room. The statement surprised May, according to those present. 
 
 The conversation in part explains why there has been little public discussion about a visit. 
 
 May invited Trump to Britain seven days after his inauguration when she became the first foreign leader to visit him in the White House. She told a joint press conference she had extended an invitation from the Queen to Trump and his wife Melania to make a state visit later in the year and was “delighted that the president has accepted that invitation”. 
 
 Many senior diplomats, including Lord Ricketts, the former national security adviser, said the invitation was premature, but impossible to rescind once made. 
 
 Trump has named Woody Johnson, a Republican donor and owner of the New York Jets, as the new ambassador to the UK but has yet to nominate him formally. A large number of US ambassadorial positions remain unfilled worldwide largely due to the Trump team failing to make any formal nominations. 
 
 The acting US ambassador to the UK, Lewis Lukens, a career diplomat, clashed with Trump last week by praising Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, for his strong leadership over the London Bridge and Borough Market terror attack. 
 
 So Trump’s too scared to come to the UK. Who says protest doesn’t work? | Hugh Muir Read more 
 
 His remarks came just days after Trump criticised Khan for his response to the attack, misquoting the mayor’s message to Londoners not to be alarmed by the increased presence of armed police. 
 
 Khan’s office pointed out Trump’s error later but the president responded by accusing London’s mayor of making a “pathetic excuse”. Khan then called on the UK government to cancel Trump’s invitation. No date had been fixed for the visit. 
 
 The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, said on Twitter that Trump’s decision was “welcome, especially after his attack on London’s mayor & withdrawal from #ParisClimateDeal.” 
 
 A Downing Street spokeswoman said it would not comment. “We aren’t going to comment on speculation about the contents of private phone conversations. The Queen extended an invitation to President Trump to visit the UK and there is no change to those plans.” 
 
 The White House said in statement: “The President has tremendous respect for Prime Minister May. That subject never came up on the call.” 
 
 Jenna Johnson, a Washington Post reporter tweeted to say that the White House press secretary had told her the Guardian’s report was “false” but added that the White House “won’t say when Trump plans to go to the UK”. 
 
 Later, The New York Times, citing two unnamed administration officials, reported that Trump was considering scrapping or postponing the trip. The officials stressed that he might yet “warm to the idea” but that keeping it off the schedule was the best approach. 
 
 Contact the Guardian securely Read more 
 
 The UK’s traditional effort to act as a bridge between the US and Europe has become more complex since the vote last year to leave the European Union and Trump’s support for policies that have angered European allies. 
 
 
 
 The Foreign Office was disappointed when against its pleading Trump went ahead earlier this month with his plan to pull the US out of the Paris climate accord. The UK had lobbied hard for Trump not to take the decision, which has led to a wider break between the EU and the US. 
 
 Trump had been an advocate of Brexit, and at one point seemed to want the EU to break up, but confidence has since returned to the bloc with pro-European Emmanuel Macron’s victory over far-right Marine Le Pen in the French presidential election. 
 
 Additional reporting by Ben Jacobs.
– While Prince Philip was in the hospital Wednesday, his wife, Queen Elizabeth II, delivered the Queen's Speech at the opening of parliament in the UK. The speech, which outlines the government's agenda and is actually written by ministers, centered on Brexit, reports Reuters. But what's drawing the most attention is what was apparently left out: any mention of Donald Trump's state visit to the country, previously announced by Prime Minister Theresa May. Details: The Guardian reports the Queen usually mentions state visits "planned for the duration of the parliament," which in this case is two years. Trump's visit was rumored to be planned for October, per the BBC. While she mentioned an upcoming visit from King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain, the Queen might've simply wanted to avoid a hullabaloo. After all, May's invitation to Trump resulted in protests and more than 1.8 million people signing a petition seeking to prevent the trip, per Bloomberg. But a Trump administration official offers a simple explanation to CNN: "She didn't mention [the visit] because the date is not yet set." A Downing Street rep affirmed that account. The BBC's James Landale isn't convinced. Citing fears within the British government that the public response would embarrass Trump, he concludes the visit has been put off and is "very unlikely" to occur this year. The Guardian previously reported Trump had decided to put off the visit until he could gain public support in the UK. The White House denied the report. Meanwhile, the Guardian and the Telegraph are now wondering whether the queen was sending a pro-EU message with her hat during the speech.