Mr Trump says the new building is in a poor location and blames predecessor Barack Obama for a “bad deal” over the embassy.

Madame Tussauds transported its model of Trump four-and-a-half miles from its Marylebone site to the new US Embassy, in Nine Elms, on Friday.

Staff from the Embassy, joined by construction workers, crowded around the model and posed for selfies.

Mr Trump said he thought the embassy's move from Grosvenor Square in Mayfair to Nine Elms, south of the Thames, was a "bad deal" and the building was in an "off location".

The US president branded the embassy “off location” in a Tweet explaining his cancelled UK visit which was due to take place next month.

British relations with the president hit a low late last year when May criticised his decision to retweet videos posted by the far-right extremist group Britain First.

Trump responded by tweeting directly to the prime minister that she should focus on tackling domestic terrorism.

Meeting the challenge of providing a modern, open and secure American diplomatic facility in London, the U.S. State Department today signed a conditional agreement with the real estate developer Ballymore to acquire a site in the Nine Elms Opportunity Area in Wandsworth for the construction of a new Embassy.

“This has been a long and careful process,” said Ambassador Robert Tuttle, who has led the search for a new site. “We looked at all our options, including renovation of our current building on Grosvenor Square. In the end, we realized that the goal of a modern, secure and environmentally sustainable Embassy could best be met by constructing a new facility. I’m excited about America playing a role in the regeneration of the South Bank of London.”

The U.S. Embassy in London will be moving to a new location in Nine Elms in 2018 and will open to the public on January 16, 2018.

View southwest at the new U.S. Embassy London in Nine Elms, across park. Photographer: Richard Bryant/arcaidimages

The postal address of our new U.S. Embassy in London is as follows:

Embassy of the United States of America
33 Nine Elms Lane
London
SW11 7US