President Donald Trump's planned state visit to the United Kingdom later this year may put 90-year-old Queen Elizabeth in a "very difficult position," according to a former permanent secretary at the U.K.'s Foreign Office.
Lord Ricketts told the Times of London that there is "no precedent for a U.S. president paying a state visit to this country in their first year. Most have had to wait till their third," NBC News reported.
It leaves her in a bind, according to Ricketts. Over 1 million British citizens have signed a petition to Parliament saying that Trump should not be invited "because it would cause embarrassment to Her Majesty the Queen."
But Prime Minister Theresa May, who extended the invitation, is standing by her invitation, citing the close relationship between the two nations.
