Prince Charles and Prince William, the first two in the line of succession to the throne, refused to meet with President Donald Trump during his UK visit, according to a Sunday London Times report.
Though officials from Downing Street and Buckingham Palace denied the reports, saying that Trump and the Queen were always meant to meet alone, sources and senior courtiers told the Times differently.
“This business of Prince Charles and Prince William not being there for the Trump visit was a snub,” an unnamed source told the Times. “They simply refused to attend. It’s a very, very unusual thing for the Queen to be there on her own.”
In addition, a Whitehall official told the Times that the Queen’s interaction with Trump was “kept to the bare minimum. The Queen will do her duty, but among the wider family, they were not as enthusiastic as they were when Obama came over.”
Trump’s UK visit does look very different from that of President Barack Obama.
Per the Times, the Obamas’ 2016 trip involved a Windsor Castle lunch with the Queen and Prince Philip, as well as a Kensington Palace dinner with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.
Earlier this year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi got a meeting with the Queen as well as a visit to a science exhibition with Prince Charles.
This would not be the first time that the Royals snubbed Trump, as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle refused to invite him to their wedding in May.
Oh well, I guess they’re out of the will…
No sane person wants to meet with Trump. Kudos to princes William and Charles.
The Queen that met Trump was much larger and more enthusiastic than the one that met Obama. Everyone agrees.
They should have retained John Cleese and Michael Palin to play the prince’s.
Donnie would have never known the difference and hilarity would have ensued…
If you have to pretend to be nice to disagreeable commoners then what’s the point of being an aristocrat?