news

How the British royal family expertly snubbed Donald Trump.

While most of us have now suffered through the painful footage of Donald Trump meeting the Queen, and keeping her waiting for 15 BLOODY MINUTES, there’s a question I’ve silently wondered: why didn’t any of the other royals come to meet the president? Where was Charles? And Prince William? Didn’t Prince George have some shade to throw?

According to a report in The Sunday Timesboth Prince Charles and Prince William made it clear during informal meetings prior to Trump’s arrival that they would not be involved in his trip.

Watch the awkward exchange between Trump and the Queen below. Post continues after video.

Video via

Given that Trump’s UK visit wasn’t a state event, Prince William and Prince Charles weren’t required to attend.

A source told The Times, “This business of Prince Charles and Prince William not being there for the Trump visit was a snub”.

“They simply refused to attend. It’s a very, very unusual thing for the Queen to be there on her own. Usually she is accompanied by somebody. Prince Charles has been substituting for Philip a lot recently.”

In 2016, when Barack and Michelle Obama visited the UK, the couple were invited to have lunch at Windsor Castle with the Queen and Prince Philip, and also had dinner at Kensington Palace with Prince Harry, Prince William, and Kate Middleton.

ADVERTISEMENT
obama-queen
When Barack met Liz. Image: Getty.

This time, however, a Whitehall official told The Times the Queen had done the "bare minimum" for President Trump. While the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have attended a number of other events in recent days, on the day of Trump's meeting with the Queen, Prince William played in a charity polo match and Prince Harry had 'private engagements'. Meanwhile, Prince Charles had a board meeting.

In addition to keeping the Queen waiting for 15 minutes, President Trump and his wife Melania also failed to bow their heads and/or curtsy when they met the Queen - seemingly ignoring royal tradition. Later, Trump walked ahead of the Queen, turning his back on her, which is considered rude and against protocol.

It's perhaps unsurprising that the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, wasn't involved in Trump's visit, given she has previously called the US President a 'misogynist'.

Despite his bizarre behaviour, Trump insisted prior to meeting the Queen that he considers her a "tremendous woman".

"I really look forward to meeting her," he told The Sun. "I think she represents her country so well. If you think of it, for so many years she has represented her country, she has really never made a mistake. You don’t see, like, anything embarrassing. She is just an incredible woman.

"She has got a great and beautiful grace about her."

Yes, well. We think there'll be some very interesting conversations around the royal dinner table in the days to come.