US ambassador: Trump to meet Queen Elizabeth during UK visit

LONDON, June 20 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will meet Queen Elizabeth during a visit to Britain next month, the U.S. ambassador in London told Sky News on Wednesday.

Trump is due in Britain in mid-July, after months of speculation over when he would visit what traditionally has been the United States' closest ally.

Asked if Trump would meet the queen during what has been described as a working visit, U.S. Ambassador Woody Johnson said: "Yes. He has to see the British head of state," adding that other details of the trip had not been finalized.

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Prime Minister Theresa May invited Trump for a state visit when she met him in the United States shortly after his inauguration in January 2017. However, he is yet to visit Britain in any capacity.

Although the July trip is not a formal state visit, which would include pomp, pageantry and a banquet with the Queen, Trump will still meet the monarch, Johnson said.

"Meeting her majesty is the most important thing because she is head of state," he told Sky News.

A spokeswoman for Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the report. (Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Stephen Addison)