President Donald Trump may have just given the Brits one more reason to dislike him: He committed a faux pas during his visit with the queen.
Trump walked (briefly) in front of the queen, and apparently that’s not allowed
Of course Trump didn’t get his royal visit completely right.
Emily Stewart covered business and economics for Vox and wrote the newsletter The Big Squeeze, examining the ways ordinary people are being squeezed under capitalism. Before joining Vox, she worked for TheStreet.
Footage of Trump walking in front of Queen Elizabeth II as they inspected her honor guard on Friday swept across the internet over the weekend. The ordeal, which lasted for a matter of seconds, merely looks awkward to the unknowing eye. But it’s apparently a no-no in British royal protocol.
When the pair starts walking, the queen gestures to Trump, apparently trying to direct him where to go. He walks ahead of her, as she tries to move behind him and to his other side. Trump stops, seeming to realize he’s lost her, and she returns to where she was in the first place.
As Slate notes, the BBC’s list of dos and don’ts for meeting the queen states that people should never turn their back to the queen, as it is considered rude. Twitter noticed Trump’s slip-up, too.
Trump’s UK trip probably hasn’t been his most fun
Some people also criticized Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for shaking hands with the queen when greeting her instead of bowing or curtseying, which is customary. But the BBC says it’s allowed to shake her hand or, if you really want, do some combination of two or three.
Trump was also reportedly a bit late to his meeting, although that is in dispute.
A spokeswoman for Melania Trump told the New York Times that the first lady was briefed on royal protocol before the visit. It’s not known whether Trump also got the memo. He is famously averse to briefing books.
Trump’s visit to the United Kingdom was met with protesters this week. Thousands of people took to the streets on Friday in London to speak out against the US president, and a giant “Trump baby” balloon floated above the city. Protesters also gathered outside of Trump’s Turnberry golf resort in Scotland on Saturday and chanted at him as he golfed.
Trump is by no means the only US official to be accused of making a mistake in his interactions with the queen. First Lady Michelle Obama put her arm around the queen in 2009, and the queen reciprocated the embrace. You’re not supposed to touch the queen.
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