From Assad to Xi, the queen has met her fair share of controversial leaders



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While this may be a lukewarm welcome for Trump, it will not be the first time Queen Elizabeth II hosts a controversial leader in the British capital.

A look back on some of the world leaders whose travels have frowned upon.

The Queen accompanies Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, during their state visit in 2015.

Protesters rallied in central London to protest China's human rights record during President Xi Jinping's 2015 visit, which aimed to strengthen economic ties between China and China. the United Kingdom.

George W. Bush

US President George W. Bush and the Queen at the end of a three-day state visit to the United Kingdom in 2003.
Anti-war protesters invaded the British capital when US President George Bush paid a state visit to the United Kingdom in 2003.

Vladimir Poutine

Putin and the Queen share a carriage along the Mall after arriving in London in 2003.
President Vladimir Putin made the first state visit to the UK of a Russian leader for more than 125 years upon his arrival in London in 2003. This trip sparked protests against the role of Russia in the Chechen conflict and the anxiety aroused by the Kremlin's support for Iran's nuclear power. program. This also followed tensions between the two countries over the US-led war in Iraq, which Britain supported but which the Kremlin opposed.

Bashar al-Assad

Queen Elizabeth II receives Asma and Bashar al-Assad on December 17, 2002 at Buckingham Palace.
In 2002, President Bashar al-Assad became the first Syrian leader to pay an official visit to the United Kingdom. Although it was not a state visit, he still met the Queen at Buckingham Palace. The four-day visit was partially diverted by public disagreement between Assad and British Prime Minister Tony Blair over a possible war in Iraq.

Saudi King Abdullah

The Queen, Prince Charles (right) and King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia on television at the King's welcome ceremony at the Horse Guards Parade in London in 2007.
The Saudi monarch's 2007 visit sparked controversy for a number of reasons, including the Kingdom's treatment of women and the gay community.

Robert Mugabe

President Robert Mugabe has visited the United Kingdom several times over the years, photographed in 1994.
During her state visit in 1994, the Queen and her husband, Prince Phillip, hosted Zimbabwean Mugabe, Prince Phillip. He was awarded the title of Honorary Knight on his trip, but he was subsequently stripped of the award. Mugabe resigned from his country's presidency in 2017 after 37 years of autocratic rule.

Nicolae Ceausescu

The queen with Ceausescu in 1978.
Queen Elizabeth welcomed the Romanian Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in 1978. Ceausescu led Romania from 1965 using secret police to brutally suppress his people. The queen was apparently so unhappy that Ceausescu was invited to the UK to hide behind a bush on the floor of Buckingham Palace to avoid talking to her, Reuters reported.

Mobutu Sese Seko

Mobutu Sese Seko with the Queen in December 1973.
Mobutu Sese Seko, President of Zaire – now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo – made an official visit to the United Kingdom in 1973. He took power in 1965 and led one of the Africa's most brutal regimes over the next three decades. Western support for the dictator declined in the early 1990s after years of allegations of human rights violations and widespread corruption. He died in exile in 1997.
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