A photograph of President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump posing with Queen Elizabeth II during their visit to Windsor Castle has been released, and someone in the photo looks rather unamused.
In the picture Friday from the Trumps' visit for tea, the queen stands in the Grand Corridor between the couple, holding her gloves and purse, unsmiling and looking unimpressed. The 92-year-old queen is not even close to brushing shoulders with either of the Trumps.
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In contrast, Melania Trump flashes a smile, and the president smiles even more widely and enthusiastically.
Latest: Official picture of The Queen with @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS #TrumpVisitUK pic.twitter.com/hl3xy3wqFP
— Jonathan Samuels (@jonathansamuels) July 13, 2018
President Trump's expression reflected his comments to The Sun earlier on Friday that he was glad to meet the queen.
"She is a tremendous woman. I really look forward to meeting her," Trump said. "I think she represents her country so well. If you think of it, for so many years she has represented her country, she has really never made a mistake. You don't see, like, anything embarrassing. She is just an incredible woman."
The president added that his wife similarly admires the queen.
"My wife is a tremendous fan of hers," he said. "She has got a great and beautiful grace about her."
Friday was far from the first time the queen had met a U.S. president. As the world's longest reigning monarch, crowned in 1952, she has already met 10 U.S. presidents.
Trump's meeting with the queen was marred in controversy. An official visit by Trump was debated by British Parliament members in early 2017, and an online petition stating that it would be an "embarrassment" to the queen received more than 1.6 million signatures at the time.
Friday's meeting was not considered an official visit but a "working visit."
The queen received the Trumps a bit more warmly during a royal welcoming ceremony, smiling and chatting with them.
Thousands of Brits in London protested President Trump's visit to the country, where he admitted he felt "unwelcome" and is largely avoiding the capital accordingly. A poll released Thursday by YouGov for ITV Tonight indicated that 49 percent of the British public did not want Trump to meet the queen.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
A Los Angeles native, Jessica Kwong grew up speaking Spanish, Cantonese and English, in that order. Her journalism career started ... Read more
