King Charles III and Queen Camilla welcomed Donald Trump and his wife Melania to the UK earlier today for their second state visit. However, the Republican leader has already ruffled a few feathers when it comes to royal protocol.
The American president, 79, and First Lady, 55, first touched down at Stansted Airport yesterday (16 September) in Air Force One for their two-day trip across the pond.
The festivities officially kicked off today, though, when Trump and Melania landed at the Windsor estate via helicopter and were met by Prince William and Kate Middleton.
The Prince and Princess of Wales greeted the couple and escorted them over to the King and Queen Camilla, before all six of them embarked on a carriage ride around the grounds.
But despite Trump not having been on UK soil for longer than 24 hours yet, eagle-eyed viewers of the whole affair have been keen to point out a few moments where they believe royal protocol was slightly skewed.
Trump’s timing
Things didn’t get off to the best possible start as the POTUS landed on the Windsor estate at 12.14pm – nearly 20 minutes later than expected.
Trump and Melania had reportedly been due to meet the Prince and Princess of Wales at 11:55am, but Trump’s Marine One helicopter only began hovering over the walled garden area of the Windsor estate at about 12:10pm.
By the time he actually stepped out of the helicopter, it was 12.16pm.
The King had made sure to arrive with the Queen in the state Bentley at 12.02pm before heading inside Victoria House, where the monarch could be seen standing just inside a door and watching the helicopter land.
Fans of the royal family will know that King Charles is not a fan of lateness or being kept waiting.
And King Charles has previously made it clear that he’s not a fan of having to wait.
Even at his coronation back in May 2023, he and Camilla arrived roughly five minutes early and had to wait inside the carriage before they could enter the church.
According to Sky News, an expert lip reader alleged that at the time, while he was waiting, the King said: “We can never be on time.”
The King reportedly added: “There’s always something… this is boring.”
Trump’s handshake with Kate Middleton
Then, once the helicopter had touched down, it was time for Trump and Melania to greet the Prince and Princess of Wales.
The world watched on as Trump shook hands with Kate, and a number of social media users were baffled by the pair’s handshake.
It was quite a long handshake, with viewers thinking he tried to sort of pull her towards him, accusing him of breaking major protocol – intentional or not.
One Twitter user wrote: “Did he pull the princess into that handshake? LoL! Let’s take Britain. They need our help. Might as well be the 51st instead of Canada.”
