INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Xi Jinping with Queen Elizabeth at a state banquet at Buckingham Palace, London
(Reuters)London: Protesters are planning demonstrations when U.S
President Donald Trump arrives in Britain next week for talks with Prime Minister Theresa May and a meeting with Queen Elizabeth.Some
lawmakers who are opposed to Trump's trip have said the monarch should not have to meet the president because of his policies.Here are
details of some of the queen's previous meetings with world leaders which provoked controversy or protests.Chinese President Xi Jinping (Oct
2015)Small demonstrations about China's human rights record were held when the Xi came on a state visit, including a pro-democracy activist
who was arrested for stepping in front of his motorcade.The protesters were drowned out by thousands of China supporters as Xi rode in a
carriage with the queen to Buckingham Palace.The following year, the queen was caught on camera saying Chinese officials had been "very
rude".Elizabeth's eldest son and heir Prince Charles skipped the state banquet for Xi
At the handover of the British colony of Hong Kong to China in 1997 he had described some Chinese officials in a journal that was leaked to
the media as "appalling old waxworks".Deputy Northern Ireland First Minister Martin McGuinness (June 2012)The queen's shaking of hands with
former Irish Republican Army (IRA) guerrilla commander Martin McGuinness was one of the most symbolic of her reign, drawing a line under 30
years of conflict in Northern Ireland.The meeting took place 14 years after the IRA ended its war against British rule in the province
There was opposition from some dissident Irish militants who regarded McGuinness as a traitor and from relatives of IRA victims who said the
queen should meet a terrorist.Lord Louis Mountbatten, who was her husband Philip's uncle, was killed by the IRA in 1979 with three others,
including his 14-year-old grandson, when his boat was blown up during a holiday in Ireland.Saudi King Abdullah (Oct 2007)Protesters shouted
"murderers", "torturers", and "shame on you" when King Abdullah was driven in a gilded horse-drawn coach through central London during his
The Liberal Democrat Party, which joined a coalition government in 2010, boycotted official events in protest at the Saudi human rights
record.The two monarchs themselves spoke warmly about each other's countries at a Buckingham Palace banquet
"The relationship between our two kingdoms is one of mutual benefit, learning and understanding," Elizabeth said.President George W
Bush (Nov 2003)Anger over the invasion of Iraq eight months earlier meant that Bush faced demonstrations from about 100,000 people when he
came to Britain for a state visit in 2003
More than 5,000 police officers were on the streets.The security concerns meant Bush himself missed out on an open-carriage parade along the
Mall by Buckingham Palace, where hundreds of protesters massed."Like all special friends, we can talk frankly and we can disagree from time
to time - even sometimes fall out over a particular issue," Elizabeth said at a banquet for Bush."But the depth and breadth of our
partnership means that there is always so much we are doing together, at all levels, that disputes can be quickly overcome and
forgiven."Russian President Vladimir Putin (June 2003)Before relations between Russia and Britain dived to post-Cold War lows, Putin was
feted with a state visit as the British government tried to expand trade and investment."Mr President, it is I believe a sign of genuine
friendship that we are able to have disagreements but remain firm partners," the queen told Putin.While not widespread, the trip did attract
protests from human rights groups who criticised Putin for Russian military action in Chechnya.Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (Dec
2002)Like Trump, Syria's Bashar al-Assad did not pay a state visit to Britain but did meet the queen at Buckingham Palace during a 2002 trip
to London where he had worked as an eye doctor.The visit was condemned by Israeli politicians and Jewish groups because of what they said
was Assad's support for Palestinian militant groups.Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe (May 1994)Mugabe, who ruled Zimbabwe from its
independence from Britain in 1980 until last year, had a four-day state visit."Through your personal commitment to economic reformyour
economy seems to be well on the way to recovery and sustainable growth," the queen said.Mugabe presided over the forced takeover of
white-owned farms at the end of the century which helped ruin one of Africa's most dynamic economies, while his wife Grace was nicknamed by
critics as "Gucci Grace" for her reputed fondness for luxury shopping.In 2008, the queen stripped him of an honorary knighthood granted
during his visit 14 years before.Japanese Emperor Akihito (May 1998)British former prisoners of war turned their backs on the Emperor when
he and the queen drove past in a carriage on their way to Buckingham Palace at the formal start of his state visit.There was also booing,
whistling and jeering from the veterans who wanted a full apology and further compensation for World War Two suffering.The cool reception
for Akihito echoed similar protests that greeted his father Hirohito in 1971 when silent crowds lined the emperor's route to show their
disapproval.Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu (June 1978)The queen ordered guest rooms to be stripped of valuables before a state visit
in 1978 by Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife, according to a later BBC documentary.The Ceausescus were said to have removed
thousands of dollars' worth of ornaments and fittings from rooms during an official stay in Paris beforehand.Media reports say the monarch
hid behind a bush to avoid the Ceausescus after spotting them as she walked her dogs in the palace grounds
The queen reportedly later described the visit as the worst three days of her life.Ceausescu had been invited partly because he had been
perceived as taking a less subservient line towards Moscow at a time when the Cold War was at its height.After he was deposed in 1989, the
queen also stripped Ceausescu of an honorary knighthood bestowed upon him during the trip.© Thomson Reuters 2018
