President Joe Biden did not break protocol when he greeted King Charles III with a tactile gesture, holding his arm and touching his back, at Windsor Castle on Monday, according to experts.
Biden faced criticism after his reception on July 10, on the first leg of his diplomatic visit to Europe, amid claims that it was a mark of disrespect to touch a British monarch in such an informal way.
As Biden stepped out of the presidential motorcade in the quadrangle of the castle, he met with Charles in the president's first encounter with the monarch since facing criticism for sending First Lady Jill Biden to the king's coronation in his place on May 6.
Charles extended his hand to the president, who accepted it, and then placed his hand on the king's forearm. As Charles then directed Biden to a dais, where the pair accepted a salute from the British Armed Forces, Biden put his hand on the king's back.
The contact echoed a similar moment in 2009, when then First Lady Michelle Obama faced a wave of backlash for placing her hand on Queen Elizabeth II's back during a meeting at Buckingham Palace. Obama was criticized despite the queen returning the gesture.
Among those to voice criticism of Biden on Monday was Nile Gardiner, director of the Heritage Foundation's Thatcher Center for Freedom, who previously told Newsweek that the president's gesture to Charles "feeds into the general image of Biden as someone who doesn't like Britain, doesn't respect it and clearly doesn't really follow the rules or protocol."
However, some experts believe this point of view is not correct.
Reflecting on Biden's meeting with Charles, founder of The Protocol School of Palm Beach in Florida, Jacqueline Whitmore, told Newsweek that there was no breach in etiquette between the two.
"President Biden and King Charles III are both heads of state," she said. "They are peers and considered equal. According to protocol, commoners should not touch royals unless the royal person reaches out first.
"Protocol is about a level playing field so each person feels equally respected. This encounter appeared to be mutually respectful. There was no violation of protocol since Biden was not seeking to put the king at a disadvantage."
Whitmore added that the greeting from Biden is one that has been seen repeated many times over, suggesting: "This is a typical 'Biden' greeting and should not be taken with any offense. When men shake hands with one another in business and social settings, they oftentimes put their left hand on the other person's forearm, and occasionally on the back. This is an extension of the handshake and a sign of friendship."
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams took a similar view, explaining that the widely debated topic of "royal protocol" is often overexaggerated.
"Queen Elizabeth II once told Michelle Obama, who famously gave her a hug which she warmly reciprocated, that royal protocol is 'rubbish,'" he told Newsweek.
"Heads of state make their own rules too and onlookers are always fascinated by their body language. In the case of King Charles and President Biden, there was much to notice. The president touched his arm, the king reciprocated and then the president put his hand on the king's back.
"There will be those who regard this as a breach of royal protocol, but a palace source has stressed that it was warm and friendly, and the king was 'entirely comfortable' with it."
Newsweek reached out to the White House and Buckingham Palace on Tuesday via email for comment.
Fitzwilliams also suggested that at a pivotal point in American-British diplomatic relations, the president's visit with the king will have been used as an opportunity to focus on a cause they both passionately share—climate change.
"The main theme of their talks was climate change," he said. "Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, which aims to promote clean energy, has been a tremendous boost to this issue for which the king has campaigned about for half a century.
"There are reportedly differences between Britain and America over who should be the next secretary general of NATO and the supply of cluster bombs to Ukraine, but it is clear that, on this pivotal topic at least, the two heads of state had a great deal in common."
Biden was hosted at the castle for tea with Charles, before attending meetings and a reception. The president also held an earlier meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at 10 Downing Street before his royal appointment.
On Tuesday, Sunak and Biden will attend the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more
