When King Charles and Queen Camilla touched down in Washington D.C. for their highly-anticipated (and controversial) four-day US state visit, royal fans were expecting all the usual pomp and pageantry. But whenever US President Donald Trump is involved, you can basically guarantee that the royal rulebook is going to get spectacularly tossed out of the nearest window. He’s hardly known for his manners or showing anyone respect…
If you cast your mind back to 2018, you might remember the time that the President famously walked right in front of the late Queen Elizabeth II during a guard of honour inspection, during his visit to the UK. Fast forward to April 2026 and it seems Trump still hasn’t brushed up on his royal etiquette.
From overly-friendly greetings to spilling sensitive political tea, here are the three times Donald Trump outrageously went against royal protocol during King Charles and Queen Camilla’s 2026 tour…
1. The overly-familiar shoulder pat
Traditionally, protocol dictates a strict ‘look but don’t touch’ policy when it comes to the royals. Unless the monarch explicitly initiates physical contact first, keep your hands to yourself.
When greeting King Charles at the White House, the President bypassed the formal pleasantries and went straight in for a hearty pat on the King’s shoulder. While Charles played it cool (he is the King, after all, and used to keeping calm and carrying on), royal experts and viewers were quick to point out the totally casual breach of unwritten royal rules.
2. Cutting right in front of Queen Camilla
Ok wow, so it seems history really does love to repeat itself: in scenes that felt very reminiscent of his infamous 2018 faux pas with the late Queen, Trump once again found himself struggling with the concept of waiting.
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As members of the US administration lined up to greet the royal couple, Trump was caught on camera completely cutting in front of Queen Camilla. The awkward manoeuvre not only sidelined the Queen, but reportedly left King Charles struggling to even get through the lineup to shake hands with the welcoming committee. The moment was swiftly labelled as ‘disrespectful’, ‘tacky’ and ‘shockingly rude’ on socials.
3. Linking a political stance to the King
This one is a major royal no-no. It is a golden, unbreakable rule of the monarchy that the King must remain strictly politically neutral at all times and never wade into public debate. Because of this, private conversations between the monarch and other heads of state are meant to stay totally confidential. But following a lavish White House state dinner, Trump threw caution to the wind and announced that King Charles had privately “agreed” with him regarding the ongoing war in Iran and its nuclear weapon ambitions.
“Charles agrees with me even more than I do,” Trump told the room of dignitaries. “We’re never going to let that opponent have a nuclear weapon.”
Anna Moneymaker//Getty Images
Given the current political row between Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the Iran war, dragging the King into the drama was a massive breach of convention. It forced Buckingham Palace to quickly swoop in with a carefully-worded statement to do some major diplomatic damage control.
“The King is naturally mindful of his Government’s long-standing and well-known position on the prevention of nuclear proliferation,” a Palace spokesperson officially stated the following morning.
There’s still a day of the visit left to go, so who knows how many more mess-ups Trump can manage before sundown?
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