All the times Trump broke royal protocol during the King’s visit | News UK

That’s a wrap on King Charles and Queen Camilla’s historic (and controversial) US state visit — the first since President George W. Bush hosted the late Queen Elizabeth in 2007.

Considering the current state of UK and US relations, due to the transatlantic divide over Ukraine and the Middle East, it was a high-stakes trip.

However, the POTUS and monarch seemed to put on a united front, with state dinners and ceremonial welcomes used to complement and tease one another.

Case in point: Trump described the two countries’ friendship as ‘unlike any other on Earth,’ while the King poked fun at the president, reminding him that he’s Canada’s head of state.

Schmoozing aside, it would be remiss to ignore all the times Trump went against the royal rule book. After all, he’s famous for it.

From ignoring the ‘look but don’t touch’ policy to history literally repeating itself, it’s like it’s 2018 all over again.

You know, when he brazenly walked in front of Queen Elizabeth during a guard of honour inspection?

Trump walked in front of Queen Camilla

Yep, we’re going straight in on this one, because Trump clearly hasn’t learned his lesson from last time.

On Tuesday, the King and Queen were returning to the White House after a private welcome from the president and First Lady, Melania. The foursome was greeted by a long line of officials, including US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

Footage showed Camilla making the first move by shaking the outstretched hands. But it wasn’t long before Trump was caught cutting in front of the Queen, who immediately appeared taken aback.

King Charles was also reportedly caught in the crossfire, struggling to get through the handshakes. Eventually, the pair both gave up, as Trump continued to make himself the centre of attention.

Trump touched King Charles

We get it, there are a lot of rules and regulations surrounding the royals — but one of the most well-known is the ‘don’t touch’ policy.

Traditionally, protocol states that non-royals cannot touch royals unless they have initiated the contact first.

On this trip, Trump clearly considered himself an exception to the rule, as when greeting the monarch at the White House, he patted the King’s shoulder.

Following the interaction, body language expert Judi James told the Daily Mail: ‘This touch on the arm as they walked in also looked like a more political gesture.

‘It was also the first real gesture of active, “special” friendship here from a rather more subdued Trump than the very effusive rituals we saw during their last meeting [in September 2025].’

Despite the breach, James suggested that it didn’t offend the monarch.

She said: ‘Charles has always seemed more relaxed about that than his mother [Queen Elizabeth II], and Trump’s gesture was extremely tempered for Trump.

‘Just a light, tentative and rather polite touch to steer Charles inside.’

This wasn’t the only time some non-consensual touching went on, though. Trump also touched Charles’ knee during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House.

Trump made it political

This is perhaps the most shocking disregard of the rules. Anyone who has watched The Crown will know that the monarch’s job is to keep things neutral, especially when it comes to politics.

Royals cannot be seen favouring one political party over another, as it undermines their position as non-partisan. The monarchy’s survival literally depends on staying above politics, as part of the King’s job is to serve as a constant figurehead while elected governments change.

Still, it’s one rule for us and another for Trump, as he announced to a room of dignitaries that the King ‘agreed’ with him on the ongoing war in Iran.

Following a lavish White House state dinner, he said: ‘Charles agrees with me even more than I do. We’re never going to let that opponent have a nuclear weapon.’

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