Did The Queen send hidden messages to Donald Trump during his state visit to the UK?

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5th Jun 2019

Picture this: US President Donald Trump is sitting down to a state banquet at Buckingham Palace with Britain’s ruling monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, and Her Majesty points out that the plates used for the dinner are from George IV’s Grand Service. What an honour! Or, maybe not? 

Was there, in fact, a hidden message in that plate choice that very subtly threw shade at the Trump? The Queen and her loyal, long-term palace staff are, after all, masters at graceful international diplomacy; having been the ruling monarch of the United Kingdom since 1953, The Queen has decades of experience. Trump, on the other hand, has been president for just over two years.

Of course, outwardly The Queen and any occasion she hosts are the epitome of grace, manners and decorum, she takes her duty as monarch very seriously and leads by example. However, she and her palace staff are all human with feelings and opinions of their own, which it could be speculated they may very well show by hiding telling messages in say, the choice of plates used during a dinner or drawing attention to a gift it’s highly likely the gift giver will not remember gifting. 

These tiny sleight-of-hand protests are especially important when The Queen and her staff are playing host to someone that is perhaps more of a duty rather than a delight, such as, for example, a person who allegedly hasn’t had kind words to say about a certain member of the royal family. 

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The crockery used during the state banquet held for Trump overnight could be considered one example of this very subtle shade throwing. Reuters reports the dinner service was commissioned by George IV in 1806, consisting of over “4,000 pieces for dining.” It’s an impressive dinner service to say the least, but, where it gets interesting is when you think about the message behind that particular dinner service; Britain was making 4,000-piece dinner services in 1806, whereas the US had only been declared an independent country just over 30 years prior. A historical message perhaps?

Another interesting moment of the Trump visit occurred over a pewter horse. Royal reporter Emily Andrews posted about the encounter on Twitter, noting that as The Queen, Trump and his wife, Melania, were walking together through Buckingham Palace, The Queen pointed out a pewter horse Trump had gifted The Queen during his visit to the UK in 2018, but when asked if he recognised it, he reportedly said “no”. Melania then tried to save the day by saying “I think we gave that to The Queen.” Melanie clearly got the memo about the pewter horse but it seems her husband did not. Another subtle shade throw?

Royal protocol for interacting with The Queen is a minefield of rules and regulations that even the most dedicated of students would find challenging, however The Queen is surely more forgiving of some people and situations than others. For example, could she have acted any differently when Trump reportedly greeted her with some sort of awkward, surely protocol-defying fist bump?

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II shakes hands with US President Donald Trump, Buckingham Palace, June 3, 2019. Image credit: Getty Images

 

The Queen, Kate Middleton and the Duchess of Cornwall wearing white to the state banquet could also be taken as a very subtle message to their guest. Wearing white has become synonymous with female political resistance and dates back to Britain’s suffragettes in the early 20th century. Was it a nod to that movement? We don’t know but we do know that The Queen is a very masterful woman.

Updated June 5, 2019: One further possible shade throwing example has since been unearthed by the internet in the form of the ruby tiara The Queen chose to wear for the state banquet. Read all the details of what Her Majesty’s choice of tiara could mean here.