Hasta La Gadget!

President Donald Trump is reportedly demanding that a trip in a royal carriage be a part of his itinerary during a state visit to Britain later this year, according to U.K.’s The Times.

A carriage procession from London’s Horse Guards Parade to Buckingham Palace is a normal part of the protocol for a state visit. But The Times noted President Barack Obama chose not to travel in the carriage during a 2011 visit, opting to make the trip in his armored limousine.

The White House did not return a request for comment.

Sources told The Times that the carriage was not as secure as the president’s traditional armored vehicle that is bulletproof, protects against a chemical attack, and can withstand a small bomb.

Security officials are preparing for massive protests during Trump’s visit, which The Times reported will require unprecedented security. The Evening Standard reported in February that policing costs for the visit could be up to 7 million pounds.

“The vehicle which carries the president of the United States is a spectacular vehicle. It is designed to withstand a massive attack like a low-level rocket grenade,” a source told The Times. “If he’s in that vehicle he is incredibly well protected and on top of that it can travel at enormous speed. If he is in a golden coach being dragged up the Mall by a couple of horses, the risk factor is dramatically increased.”

The drain on resources for a carriage trip may be of little significance to Trump. He has stretched the Secret Service thin and spent millions in American taxpayer funds to protect his family and to take frequent weekend trips to his estate in Florida.

Trump, known to obsess over imagery and the way he appears on television, toyed with the idea of having military equipment in his inaugural parade.

Chinese president Xi Jinping traveled by carriage during a state visit in 2015, as did Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto.

Over 1.8 million people signed an online petition earlier this year arguing that Queen Elizabeth II shouldn’t extend a formal invitation for a state visit to Trump because “it would cause embarrassment to Her Majesty the Queen.” In January, British Prime Minister Theresa May extended an invitation for a state visit to Trump on behalf of the queen and he accepted.

“This invitation reflects the importance of the relationship between the United States of America and the United Kingdom. At this stage, final dates have not yet been agreed for the State Visit,” the Foreign and Commonwealth Office wrote in response to the petition.

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