CBC News – While observers weren’t necessarily expecting a bow or curtsy, they may not have predicted a greeting this informal, either.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s historic second state visit to Britain began Wednesday with a stop at Windsor Castle, where he was met by Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales.
Trump stepped out of his helicopter, raised his hand in a salute and then shook William’s hand.
Then, upon greeting Catherine, Trump shook her hand and said, “You’re beautiful. So beautiful.”
“There are so many levels of cringe to this … “
Catherine didn’t appear to react one way or another. She reached out to shake first lady Melania Trump’s hand, and the foursome walked across the lawn toward King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
There are no obligatory codes of conduct when meeting a member of the Royal Family, notes the official royal website, adding that many people do still wish to “observe the traditional forms” — which for men, is a neck bow.
So technically, Trump didn’t breach royal protocol by commenting on Catherine’s appearance, explained Justin Vovk, a royal historian with the Institute for the Study of the Crown in Canada.
“But it would, in my opinion, sort of transgress the unofficial rules of personal diplomacy,” Vovk told CBC News.
Later Wednesday, at the formal state banquet, Trump mentioned Catherine’s appearance again, this time in his official speech that was broadcast around the world.
At a state banquet at Windsor Castle for Donald and Melania Trump, the U.S. president said King Charles had raised a ‘remarkable son’ in Prince William and that he and Melania were ‘delighted’ to see Catherine ‘so radiant, and so healthy, and so beautiful.’
