Kirk was fatally shot during a debate at Utah Valley University on 10 September by 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, who had been hiding on a rooftop.

This follows several incidents targeting Donald Trump himself, including a shooting at a Pennsylvania rally last year where he was grazed by a bullet and another attendee was killed. Weeks later, an armed man carrying an AK-47-style rifle was discovered on his Florida property.

Reflecting on the turmoil, Melania previously shared: “I saw how they treated him, how the media was against him. I think they are afraid of his strength, and he was leading this country with peace through strength. So, as soon he announced that he was running for the presidency, everything really changed.

“And I saw it, and I said, you know, this will not be very pleasant. So I always said to him, ‘What is next?’.

“In one way, you’re not surprised, and with every event that happened, I kept thinking, ‘What’s next? What are they trying to do?’.”

Security and Politics on the Agenda

Ahead of the Trumps’ visit, former UK ambassador to the US Lord Kim Darroch suggested political violence could well be among the subjects raised in discussions with the royals.

“Security is tightly bound with America. So, this is a real opportunity to submit to those links to make the best of it,” Darroch said.

He also predicted that Ukraine would feature heavily in talks, explaining: “First of all, [there are] difficult discussions potentially on Ukraine, because the American proposal seems to be: if we Europeans want America to put more pressure on Putin, we need to be prepared to levy heavy tariffs on China and India over their oil purchases from Russia.

“We all want to put pressure on Putin, but that proposal is very, very tricky.”