As US President Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK continues, the Mirror takes a look at some of the royal bombshells that defined POTUS’s first day on British soil, including an off-script moment that raised a few eyebrows
Donald Trump’s security-flanked arrival at Windsor Castle marked the first day of his official state visit to the UK, and behind all the pomp and splendour, there were some shocking moments along the way.
From the moment the POTUS and First Lady Melania stepped onto the grounds of the sprawling royal estate, where they were warmly greeted by the Prince and Princess of Wales, all eyes were on them as protests against the controversial visit erupted in Windsor and elsewhere.
For the presidential couple, however, such matters likely seemed far away as they spent the day lapping up the regal splendour, lunching with King Charles and Queen Camilla, before a magnificent state banquet was laid out at the historic St. George’s Hall, held in their honour.
Cheerful greetings were exchanged, with plenty of camera-ready smiles. But this all-important first day certainly didn’t go without a hitch, or without a few eyebrows being raised. Here, the Mirror takes a look at some of Trump’s biggest royal bombshells, as day two of his state visit rumbles on…
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Kate’s subtle handbag trick
The Prince and Princess of Wales were the first senior royals to greet the Trumps after they landed on the Windsor estate, and all eyes were on the future king and queen as they made friendly conversation with their American visitors. And one telling handbag trick caught the attention of body language expert Bruce Durham from Huddle Culture.
Speaking previously with the Mirror, Durham noted: “When they walk away from the helicopter, you see Kate notices the closeness between Donald and Melania, but then what occurs is that her brain notices this, and you’ll see there is a shift of her handbag in her hands.
“And what this is, is that she notices that and she feels uncomfortable enough and her brain says move closer to William, but because of that regimented royal protocol that’s been ingrained within her, all you get is a shift of the handbag, which indicates she wants to do it, but she regiments herself and recognises that spatial awareness.”
He added: “They do look jovial, but it is good when you get these different types of behavioural accpetances, where you’ve got the American president and his partner and Prince William on the other side and the different expectations of how people should behave.”
Palace wades in on royal protocol accusation
While Kate’s adherence to protocol may well be deeply ingrained, for President Trump, it’s a whole different language, and one supposed protocol breach didn’t escape the notice of eagle-eyed royal watchers.
Following a grand royal salute in the Windsor Castle quadrangle, Lt Col Storm Green, Captain of the Guard of Honour, invited President Trump to inspect the bespoke Guard of Honour, which was made up of Nijmegen Company Grenadier Guards, No 7 Company Coldstream Guards, and F Company Scots Guards.
President Trump appeared interested in the military display while being escorted down the first two ranks of soldiers, with King Charles following a few steps behind, in accordance with tradition.
During POTUS’s last UK state visit, he faced a backlash after walking in front of the late Queen Elizabeth II while inspecting the troops, with royal sources at the time insisting he hadn’t done anything wrong.
History repeated itself yesterday when President Trump walked in front of Charles, which palace sources have clarified did not break tradition.
Trump left stunned by Kate
Princess Kate was the very image of regal sophistication as she greeted Trump and Melania yesterday, clad in a burgundy Emilia Wickstead dress and matching hat by Jane Taylor, accesorised with a feather brooch and, naturally, her signature bright smile.
The President appeared blown away by the famously stylish future queen, telling her, “You’re so beautiful” in their first conversation of the day.
Yesterday afternoon, Kensington Palace issued a statement revealing that William, Kate, and the Trumps had a “warm and friendly” meeting inside Windsor Castle. The palace has not released the details of what exactly the two couples discussed.
Melania’s belt row
Melania arrived at yesterday evening’s glittering banquet wearing a distinctive and cheerful dress, but fashion watchers looking on were a bit baffled by the colour palette, and couldn’t work out whether her ‘optical illusion’ belt was pink or purple.
Her yellow dress, too, prompted a bit of a debate, as it appeared bright and bold in some pics, and muted and understated in others. So what’s the truth?
It’s understood that flash photography or pre-publication Photoshop manipulation is likely behind the confusion, with New York-based personal stylist Liz Teich telling the Mail Online: “Photographers always play with saturation, curves and contrast in their photos, and I do believe that her dress was tweaked to look a bit bolder than it actually is, judging by the saturation of all of the other colors in the image.”
Remarking upon the choice of yellow, the colour of optimism, Teich suggested: “Perhaps she was seeking something cheerful for this visit, especially as her husband’s mother is from Scotland, where the Royal Family regularly visits, as well as to stand up against the protesters of their visit.”
Charles reacts to Trump going off script
During the opulent state banquet at Windsor Castle, Trump turned political in an off-script remark made to Charles, something which is seen as going against protocol during such occasions, especially when in the presence of the monarch.
Standing between Charles and Kate, POTUS delivered his speech with his script in hand, and at one point seemingly appeared to rail against his presidential predecessor, Joe Biden. Turning to the King in a direct address, President Trump declared: “We are, as a country, as you know, doing unbelievably well.”
He continued: “We had a very…sick country one year ago, and today I believe we’re the hottest country anywhere in the world. In fact, nobody’s even questioning it…but we owe so much of that to you.”
After the speech wrapped up and the national anthem sounded out, guests took their seats to begin the feast. It was then that the King and the President were immediately in conversation.
Speaking with the Mirror, Lip reader Jeremy Freeman revealed that, while he couldn’t catch everything that was said, he did pick up on one powerful two-word comment from Charles that potentially showed his feelings about what was said. According to Jeremy, Charles simply said: “Thank you.”
Akward Harry snub
During his speech, President Trump also appeared to take a swipe at King Charles’ youngest son, Prince Harry, in what many have viewed as a snub.
Heaping praise on heir to the throne Prince William, President Trump told his fellow dinner guests: “His Majesty has also raised a remarkable son in His Royal Highness, Prince of Wales, really amazing, we’ve gotten to know you, and I think you’ll be an unbelievable success in the future.”
There was no mention here of Prince Harry, who stepped down from his duties as a senior working royal back in 2020. At another point in his speech, President Trump asserted that King Charles had helped wounded veterans “like nobody else”.
Given that former soldier Harry’s Invictus Games initiative was set up with the direct aim of helping injured servicemen, this felt like a very pointed dig indeed.
Trump ‘drops alpha status’ after Kate’s move
The Princess of Wales reduced Donald Trump to a hardly ever-seen position after dazzling at the state banquet, according to an expert.
During the lavish event, Kate was hailed yet again as “so radiant and so healthy and so beautiful” by the US leader as he gave a speech to guests in St George’s Hall.
Kate wore a couture creation by British designer Phillipa Lepley, with a striking full-length, champagne gold hand-embroidered Chantilly lace evening coat featuring a regal-looking high collar over a silk crepe gown.
Photos captured the princess flashing a smile at the president as they sat next to each other for the glitzy night. And according to body language expert Bruce Durham from Huddle Culture, Kate almost reduced Trump into a subservient position.
He explained to the Mirror: “What we hardly ever see is Donald Trump in a subservient position. If you look at Kate, she looks regal, if you look at her positioning, she is very upright and very much the alpha.
“What we see with Donald Trump here is Trump adopting a tortoise position. Imagine when a tortoise is scared, they retract their neck, and this is very much the same for human beings.
“If you look at Trump, he is almost leaning in with the tortoise effect; there is a raise of the shoulders. We know for sure that it is a subservient position.
“This is coupled with the fact of how regal she looks, how straight she looks – and looking at Donald Trump like a childish, impish-type comment has been made.
“This is important because when is Donald Trump never the alpha? So there is something going on here in that either Kate has an effect on him, or there is a narrative in his head which results in him raising his shoulders, retracting his head, with Kate the alpha, Donald the beta.”
Kate beamed as she stood and raised her glass to toast the president after he addressed the 160 guests in St George’s Hall. Before the state dinner, Kate and William posed for a photo taken by one of their favoured photographers, Matt Porteous.
The pair were shown standing side by side in their banquet finery, with the portrait posted on Kensington Palace’s social media, with the words “Ready for The State Banquet” followed by American and UK flag motifs.
Kate’s delicate coat featured hand-embroidered roses with couched gold cording, accented with French knots and satin-stitched blooms, demonstrating her commitment to supporting British craftsmanship and creativity.
Her earrings belonged to the late Queen and the princess opted for her go-to tiara the Lover’s Knot Tiara and wore her hair down and styled in waves.
Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com
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