Queen Elizabeth Once Defied ‘Rubbish’ Royal Protocol For The Obamas
Queen Elizabeth is known as a stickler for tradition but all that went out of the window when she met Barrack and Michelle Obama in 2016.
The Mirror reports that in her recently published explosive memories, ‘Becoming’, Mrs Obama reveals how she and her husband met the Queen at Windsor Castle two years ago.
According to the former First Lady, the Monarch went out of her way to make the Obamas feel at home even if it entailed flying in the face of royal protocol.
Mrs. Obama recalls that alongside Barack she was briefed on the strict procedures that they were to adhere to when meeting the Windsors.
“We were briefed on the protocol ahead of time: We’d greet the Royals formally before getting into their vehicle to make the short drive.
“I’d sit in the front next to ninety-four-year-old Prince Philip, who would drive, and Barack would sit next to the Queen in the back seat.”
However, all that went out of the window when the Obamas came face to face with Liz and Phil.
Mrs. Obama elaborated that after the couples made their formal greetings in a field outside the palace grounds, the Queen dramatically threw a spanner into the works by insisting in true sisterhood fashion that Mrs. Obama and not Barack join her in the back seat of the Range Rover.
Mrs Obama explained, “I froze, trying to remember if anyone had prepared me for this scenario, whether it was more polite to go along with it or to insist that Barack take his proper seat by her side.
“The Queen immediately picked up on my hesitations and was having none of it.”
Upon notching the First Lady’s discomfort the Monarch asked, “Did they give you some rule about this”
And then with a dismissive wave of her hand, the Queen said, “That’s rubbish. Sit wherever you want.”
Donald Trump, on the other hand, broke Royal protocol to suit himself. During his visit to the UK earlier this year Trump courted controversy when he appeared to keep Her Majesty waiting.
Trump was also in direct breach of Royal protocol when he casually sauntered in front of the Monarch during the inspection of the Queen’s Guard.
Trump appeared oblivious to his Royal faux-pas and strutted on regardless, much to the obvious discomfit of concerned onlookers and the bemused gaze of the Queen.
To be fair, during a visit to the UK in 2009 Michelle Obama also crossed a line that Royal experts insist must never be crossed when she hugged the Monarch like an old friend. On this occasion, the Queen did not seem to mind all that much.
