Palace dismisses report of Prince Charles and Prince William's Trump 'snub'

Buckingham Palace has denied claims Prince Charles and Prince William refused to meet with Donald Trump when he visited Windsor Castle last week.

The Times reported yesterday that the princes were vocal about their reluctance to meet with the US President during his UK visit, thus leaving Queen Elizabeth II to greet him by herself.

“They simply refused to attend. It’s a very, very unusual thing for the queen to be there on her own. Usually she is accompanied by somebody. Prince Charles has been substituting for Philip a lot recently.”

However, Buckingham Palace has now shared different version of events, telling People it was standard practice for "guest of government visits" that Her Majesty, as Head of State, receive Trump.

“There was never a suggestion that other members of the royal family would take part.”

Despite this, a Whitehall official suggested it wasn't just the princes who weren't keen on Trump's visit, saying even the Queen was gritting her teeth during the tour.

“The Queen will do her duty, but among the wider family, they were not as enthusiastic as they were when Obama came over.”

Trump and Queen Elizabeth were scheduled to meet at the beginning of his presidential term, however a petition launched in 2017 succeeded in blocking it.

Trump’s royal tour paled in comparison to when his predecessor, Barack Obama visited Windsor Castle.

In April this year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the Queen, while Prince Charles hosted him at a science exhibition.

And what would a visit from Trump be without a few displays of disrespect and a complete lack of decorum?

Following the president’s visit, the Twitter-sphere exploded with the various ways in which Trump insulted Her Majesty, including keeping her waiting for their meeting and walking ahead of her.  

Trump’s visit was also marred by protests in London where crowds mocked the controversial leader with a huge inflatable ‘baby Trump’.