Times Donald Trump Blatantly Broke Royal Protocol With Queen Elizabeth

Royal rules can be daunting at times. The official royal family website provides a helpful list of suggested behaviors including bows, curtsies, and saying "Your Majesty" or simply "Ma'am." However, before readers get to these specifics, bold text at the top of the page claims there are actually no official rules, making the situation a little murky. There's also the added complication of public perception and what royal family members deem acceptable.

During his presidency, Donald Trump interacted with Queen Elizabeth II on multiple occasions. He met the monarch for tea in July 2018,and during a three-day state visit in June 2019.  Later that same year, he saw the queen at a NATO event held at Buckingham Palace. Throughout her long tenure on the throne, Elizabeth met with dozens of world leaders, and Trump was the 11th U.S. president that she met as queen. In contrast, Trump didn't have that level of experience. He also might not have been as familiar with royal rules since it was possible he may have opted out of a protocol refresher from his staff. Perhaps unsurprisingly, that would come back to bite him.

Trump has praised the queen and fondly recalled spending time with her. "We had a good chemistry," Trump informed GB News after her death in 2022. Recalling his 2019 state visit, he recalled, "I sat next to the Queen, and we just talked all night long." Much to the consternation of royal etiquette enthusiasts, however, Trump had several protocol missteps during his time with the monarch.

There was a question about Donald Trump's punctuality when he had tea with Queen Elizabeth in July 2018. Footage of the event showed the monarch awaiting her guests and adjusting one of her gloves as she appeared to check her watch. This gesture led to a media debate as to whether the Trumps were late or the queen was ahead of schedule. Once he arrived, Trump also broke royal rules by shaking hands with the queen rather than bowing to her.  While Elizabeth showed Trump her honor guard, he committed another faux paus. Trump stepped in front of the queen and blocked her, forcing her to cross behind him before they walked side by side. Some fans were irritated that the president didn't respect his elder. However, Elizabeth had a humorous reaction, as she reportedly laughed at the news footage.   

Weeks later, Trump claimed to a crowd that he had been 15 minutes early that day and was forced to wait for the queen, not the other way around. Time debacles aside, Trump inarguably broke protocol by sharing details of the royal meeting as he bragged about staying longer than the allotted time. Trump broke the same role again in a TV interview with "Good Morning Britain," in which he divulged that the queen told him that Brexit was "a very complex problem." When pressed to share more about Queen Elizabeth's stance, Trump abruptly invoked protocol about preserving the privacy of royal meetings and refused to provide more details.

When the Trumps returned to the U.K. for an official state visit in 2019, they once again circumvented protocol by shaking hands. Then, at the official state banquet, Trump made a speech during which he offered a toast. As the queen stood up, he appeared to briefly touch her back. Some people deemed this a breach of protocol, as they had in 2009 when Michelle Obama spontaneously put an arm around the queen as they were chatting. While the monarch didn't react to Trump's fleeting touch, she reciprocated Obama's gesture. 

That being said, the notion that touching a royal is forbidden is a misconception. After the media brouhaha criticizing Obama, Buckingham Place stated that it was a "mutual and spontaneous display of affection." In addition, Obama noted that as she was worriedly reviewing etiquette, Elizabeth displayed a relaxed attitude. "[The queen's] telling you one thing and you're remembering protocol and she says 'Oh it's all rubbish, just get in,'" Obama recalled, per CNN.

When the Trumps returned to the U.K. for a NATO reception, they were called out again for shaking hands with the queen. However, there's a gray area regarding handshakes vs. bows and curtsying. "The Queen does not expect Americans to curtsy or bow," explains a White House document from the mid-1970s, "especially in an informal situation" (via Business Insider). While the event was decidedly formal, it's open to interpretation whether this American exception holds for all times.