President Trump arrives back in the United States today, and Keir Starmer will have returned to 10 Downing Street breathing a sigh of relief that this unprecedented second state visit went about as well as it could have done. However, there may be different feelings in Buckingham Palace and the other royal residences. Certainly, Trump’s open admiration – even obsequiousness – for King Charles, who he described as ‘a great gentleman [and] a great king’ – would have been received well. But the King himself maintained a poker face throughout the visit, with his only pointed remarks at the state banquet about the need for a lasting peace in Ukraine giving anything away about his own thoughts.
Charming both the Trumps is a tough gig, but Catherine managed it with flying colours
Trump’s typically unorthodox and free-association speech at the same dinner, however, contained one surprising touch, when he remarked about how the Princess of Wales was ‘so radiant and so healthy and so beautiful’. On the one hand, the implicit nod to her having gone into remission after her cancer treatment might be seen as a thoughtful, even humane allusion. On the other, the president’s obvious admiration for Catherine, whom he sat next to during the banquet, might be seen as tipping over into straightforward infatuation. In one of the pictures released of the event, she is looking at Trump with a mixture of amusement and slight bafflement; he, meanwhile, is grinning as if he is the luckiest man in the room, if not the world.
Entertaining visiting dignitaries is par for the course for the Princess of Wales, however, and a little gallantry from the 79-year-old American is to be expected. A more unexpected offshoot of the trip, however, is the genuine rapport that appears to have grown up between Catherine and Melania Trump. It might have been expected that the bulk of the hosting duties would have gone to the Queen. But Camilla is recovering from a bout of sinusitis, and so it was the Princess of Wales and the First Lady who headed to meet a bunch of scouts in the grounds of Frogmore House, which proved a surprisingly auspicious event.
Dwayne Fields, the aptly named chief scout, told the Times that:
From what I’ve seen, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were to go away and collaborate on something in the US…I would love to see the Squirrels section exported to the US and I wouldn’t be surprised if Mrs Trump goes back and talks about what she’s seen, what she’s experienced and what she saw others gaining from the experience.
Fields also observed that the First Lady and Catherine found ‘a lot to talk about’. Certainly, in pictures released of the event, the often stern-looking Melania seemed as relaxed and cheery as she has ever been in public, telling the scouts that her favourite insect was a ‘ladybug’ – ‘the first ladybug!’, one child quipped, showing a future as a raconteur – and thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to bounce balls around a parachute with the children.
There were many reasons to be relieved that the trip went so well. As one palace source recounted:
The visiting party was very easy to deal with and very appreciative of the hospitality. All elements of the pomp and pageantry created an awesome spectacle. You can tell from the expression of the principals how much they appreciated it.
Full credit will, of course, be given to the King and Queen, as it should be, but a great deal of kudos should also go to Catherine, whose re-emergence into public life and the spotlight this year has demonstrated how much she was missed last year. Charming both the Trumps, in wholly separate ways, is a tough gig, but she managed it with flying colours. Radiant, healthy and beautiful, she might very well be, but a savvy operator, too. And if a ‘womance’ of sorts beckons with the First Lady, that might end up being the most special relationship of all.
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