Brigitte Macron committed something of a faux pas today when she tried to hold hands with a rather reluctant Queen Camilla.
The mishap occurrsed when the Queen and Mrs Macron, both dressed in white, laid wreaths at the British Normandy Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer.
After placing their flowers, they stepped back to take a moment of reflection and the First Lady reached out to the Queen, but Camilla seemed somewhat reluctant to proffer her gloved hand.
After appearing to give the royal’s hand a slight squeeze, Mrs Macron dropped it and the two stood side by side in front of the memorial.
While her gesture was no doubt well meant, getting tactile with members of the royal family is always a thorny issue.
According to the Royal Family’s website there are ‘no obligatory codes of behaviour’ when meeting The Queen or a member of the Royal Family, but there’s an unwritten rule that you shouldn’t go beyond a handshake.
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After placing their flowers at the British Normandy Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer, the First Lady reached out to the Queen, but Camilla seemed somewhat reluctant to proffer her gloved hand
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The Queen, King Charles, President Macron and his wife Brigitte attend the UK Ministry of Defence and the Royal British Legion’s commemorative ceremony marking the 80th anniversary
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King Charles greeted Mrs Macron with a kiss on the hand and showed no sign of annoyance after the French President and his wife were late
While younger members of the royal family like Prince William and the Princess of Wales are known for being more relaxed and doling out hugs, the older generation follow the example of the late Queen who was not tactile with members of the public.
President Emmanuel Macron also kept the King and Queen waiting when he was 20 minutes late for a showpiece D-Day memorial ceremony today.
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President Macron place a supportive arm around his wife as they joined King Charles and Camilla at the memorial
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The awkward moment happened after Brigitte and Emmanuel had kept the King and Queen waiting
The Royals were already sitting waiting on Thursday morning when France’s head of state finally arrived at the 80th anniversary event at the British Normandy Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer.
King Charles and Queen Camilla did not comment on the behaviour of Mr Macron, who was accompanied by his wife, Brigitte Macron.
But French media noticed what happened, and it was widely reported.
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The Queen and the French First Lady, both dressed in white, looked solemn as they prepared to lay some flowers
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The pair appeared to engage in friendly conversation as they stood alongside each other, having bonded during Charles and Camilla’s state visit to France last year
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Shortly before the awkward moment, the pair seemed to be engaged in conversation as they waited to lay the flowers
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As the Queen and the First Lady looked engaged in conversation, the King and the President also appeared to enjoy a chat
Cnews, the TV news outlet, wrote: ‘While the King and Queen of England were already installed, Emmanuel Macron and his wife arrived twenty minutes late for the Franco-British ceremony, which shocked the English.’
On Tuesday, Mr Macron was almost an hour late when he turned up at the first D-Day commemoration in Plumelec, Brittany.
There was no immediate comment from the Élysee Palace about the President’s tardiness of Brigitte’s attempt to hold the Queen’s hand.
The First Lady followed in the footsteps of Hollywood star Tom Cruise who offered his hand to Kate Middleton to assist her up a small set of steps at the Top Gun: Maverick premiere in May 2022.
He followed the example of fellow Americans who have raised eyebrows by being touchy feely, including Michelle Obama who famously put an arm around the late Queen and LeBron James who did the same with Kate.
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Hollywood A-lister Tom Cruise (pictured, right) raised eyebrows at last night’s Top Gun: Maverick premiere in London, when he took the hand of Kate Middleton (pictured, left)
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Another tactile moment between an American and a royal came in 2014, when Prince William and Kate Middleton (pictured, centre) met US basketball player LeBron James (pictured, right) in New York, who put his arm around the Duchess’ shoulder
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One of the most infamous examples of Americans being touch feely with the British royals came in 2009, when then First Lady Michelle Obama (pictured, left) put her arm around the Queen (pictured, right)
Among the most famous tactile moments took place during a meeting between the Queen and then First Lady Michelle Obama at Buckingham Palace.
The Obamas visited her Majesty in April 2009, when she placed an arm around the monarch, who reciprocated, and put an arm around the First Lady.
Although the incident raised eyebrows at the time, reflecting on the interaction 10 years later, during a 2019 London promotional event for her memoir, Michelle Obama said it was a ‘natural human reaction’.
‘What is true among world leaders is that there are people who handle protocol, and usually the people they’re representing don’t want all that protocol.
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President Trump broke protocol by appearing to pat the Queen on the shoulder as she stood up to toast him
‘So you wonder, well, who are you doing this for? Because they don’t want it, we don’t want it.
‘But it’s just the way things are. So I don’t know that I could have done anything differently because it was a natural human reaction.’
She added that the Monarch branded royal protocol ‘rubbish’ during a later visit to Windsor Castle.
Her husband’s successor in the White House, Donald Trump, later raised eyebrows by appearing to pat the Queen on the shoulder as she stood to toast him during a state banquet in June 2019.
As the monarch stood up with her glass of Windsor Great Park sparkling English wine, the President reached out his left hand and put it behind her right shoulder, as if to pat it.
While the term protocol is bandied around a great deal, it is considered extremely poor form to touch a member of the royal family in such a formal setting. The Queen did not react and continued to play the gracious hostess.
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When the Queen met Michelle Obama in 2009, and then First Lady put her arm around her, the monarch reciprocated
Another notable moment occurred in 2014, when Kate Middleton and Prince William met Cleveland Cavaliers basketball player LeBron James in New York, after a game with the Brooklyn Nets.
When the trio posed for a photo, the athlete put his arm around the Duchess, in an eyebrow raising moment that garnered lots of attention.
Speaking to MailOnline about the tactile moment, etiquette expert William Hanson said: ‘Although I am sure the Duchess of Cambridge won’t have worried about it, Mr James should not have put his arm around her.
‘Americans are much more tactile than we Brits and this is another example of an American being too touchy feely with British royalty. You’d have thought they’d have learned by now.’
However, the Cambridges seems unbothered about the moment, and were seen laughing and joking with LeBron throughout their interaction.
