2019 Buckingham Palace NATO Reception

Overview

The 2019 Buckingham Palace NATO Reception occurred on December 3rd, 2019 in London, England. The leaders of the member countries attended the event, which took place on the eve of a meeting of the NATO leaders. Online, the reception inspired a series of viral moments, primarily focusing on how the members interacted with United States President Donald Trump.

Background

On December 3rd, 2019, Queen Elizabeth II held a reception at Buckingham Palace for the leaders from its 29 member countries.^[1] The reception took place ahead of a meeting between the members (photograph of attendees below).

Developments

Princess Anne Shrug

Welcoming guests to the event, Queen Elizabeth II greeted President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump the event. Along with her, other members of the royal family, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall also greeted President Trump and Melania. However, when Queen Elizabeth looked at Princess Anne, who did not take place in the greeting, Princess Anne shrugged (video below).

Following the release of the video, people began commenting on the exchange. U.S. Representative Ted Lieu tweeted, ^[2] "When @POTUS travels outside our country, he represents us to the world. We are all Americans. We should wish him well and want him to succeed. Basic courtesies should be extended to the American President and First Lady. What Princess Anne did was unnecessary and disrespectful." The tweet received more than 2,800 likes and 630 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below, left).

Twitter^[3] user @EdwardTHardy tweeted, "Princess Anne didn't greet Donald Trump and Melania Trump. The Queen chastised her. Princess Anne just shrugged." The tweet received more than 4,800 likes and 845 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below, center).

Twitter^[4] user @ladyhaja tweeted, "The Queen chastising Princess Anne for not greeting Trump and Anne not giving a single shit is the mood we all need to take into today." The tweet received more than 87,000 likes and 20,000 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below, right).

According to the Guardian,^[5] the response to the expression was a misunderstanding. They wrote, "The Queen seemed to be turning her head to see which world leader was next to greet and spotted Anne in the distance. The princess, raising her hands in the air, laughed and said 'It's just me,' before adding 'and this lot,' pointing to the members of the household behind her."

Justin Trudeau "Hot Mic" Trump Comments

Following a meeting, in which Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Trump exchanged tense words about spending and leadership, a camera caught Trudeau speaking about Trump to other NATO leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Johnson asked Trudeau why he was late. Trudeau apparently blamed Trump. He said, "He was late because he takes a 40-minute press conference off the top."

He also said, "You just watched his team’s jaws drop to the floor."

Trump responded the following day, calling Trudeau "two-faced."

"He’s two-faced," President Trump said. "I find him to be a very nice guy, but the truth is I called him out on the fact that he’s not paying 2% and I guess he’s not happy about it."

Search Interest

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External References