The former US leader has denied claims made in a new biography of the late monarch that she found Trump “very rude”
Former US President Donald Trump has insisted that he was in Queen Elizabeth II’s good graces following claims to the contrary in a new biography of the late monarch. In an interview with the Daily Mail on Wednesday, the Republican firebrand dismissed Craig Brown – the author of ‘A Voyage Around the Queen’ – as a “sleazebag” who is “looking for some publicity for a book that probably is phony.”
Trump met the Queen twice during his term in office. The first time was in 2018 when the monarch received him and his wife informally for tea. The following year, the then-US head of state was greeted with a full state banquet. Observers at the time claimed that Trump had violated royal protocol on several occasions.
The Daily Mail quoted the 78-year-old as insisting that the Queen “said it to friends of mine that ‘President Trump was my favorite president.’”
The former president went on to characterize his relationship with the late British monarch as “great” and “unbelievable.”
“She liked me and I liked her,” he claimed, recounting how they had “spent hours together at a state dinner.”
According to Trump, the author of the biography had intentionally smeared him with “totally false” allegations in a bid to promote his work.
The book suggests that Queen Elizabeth II found Trump “very rude,” and told another guest that she had “particularly disliked” the way he looked over her shoulder, as if in search of someone more interesting. ‘A Voyage Around the Queen’ also describes how the monarch supposedly believed Trump “must have some sort of arrangement” with his wife Melania, “or else why would she have remained married to him?”
In July 2018, Trump, along with the first lady, had tea with Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle toward the end of his UK trip. He later described the monarch as a “fantastic woman… smart and sharp [with] so much energy.”
However, observers were quick to point out several instances in which Trump had apparently broken etiquette. First, he failed to greet the Queen properly, omitting to bow. Melania, too, failed to perform the customary “small curtsy.” While not strictly obligatory, these are considered good manners and implicitly expected of officials visiting the royal family.
Later during the meeting, Trump walked ahead of the Queen and turned his back to her while inspecting the royal guard – both gestures were viewed as impolite.
