Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump
met Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle last
month, a regal conclusion to the official
portion of the US President's visit to the
United Kingdom.
"the Queen is a fantastic woman; so much energy
and smart and sharp. She was amazing. Such
a wonderful lady and so beautiful," Mr Trump
said in his interview with British journalist
and TV presenter Piers Morgan.
"It was such an honour to finally meet her.
To have a Queen like that is great."
This isn't the first time Trump's interactions
with the British royal family. Here, a brief
timeline of Trump's somewhat unsavory history
with the Princess Diana, Duchess Kate, and
the rest of the Windsors.
Following the announcement in December 1992
that Princess Diana had separated from Prince
Charles, then-American businessman Donald
Trump reportedly started courting the Princess
of Wales, allegedly bombarding her with flowers
to the point that she said, "He gives me the
creeps."
According to accounts by British journalist
Selina Scott, Trump pursued Diana quite aggressively.
"Trump clearly saw Diana as the ultimate trophy
wife," Scott wrote. "As the roses and orchids
piled up at her apartment she became increasingly
concerned about what she should do. It had
begun to feel as if Trump was stalking her."
The pair did meet once, though never dated,
and after the Princess died, Trump had the
following exchange on air with Howard Stern:
"You could've nailed her, right?" Stern asked
Trump. Trump replied, "I think I could've."
Then in 2000, Trump once again reminded the
world that he had wanted to have sex with
Diana, saying, "she was crazy, but those are
minor details."
In recent years, Trump changed his story and
denied having pursued Diana romantically.
In an interview with Piers Morgan in 2016,
he said, "I did respect her, but no interest
from that standpoint. But I did meet her once,
and I thought she was lovely."
This reversal of tone may not hold much sway
with William and Harry, given how protective
they are of their mother and her public memory.
"When it comes to the younger royals, especially
given his crude comments about Diana after
her death, it is hard to imagine that Charles,
William, Harry and Kate will view Trump as
anything but crass and overbearing,” said
royal biographer Christopher Andersen.
In 2012, paparazzi used a powerful zoom lens
to capture photos of the Duchess of Cambridge
sunbathing topless while on vacation in the
south of France with her husband, Prince William.
These photos were then sold and published
in a French magazine called Closer.
There was a public outcry and a broad consensus
that the pictures were a grave invasion of
Kate's privacy—and recently, a French court
ruled in the royals' favor, awarding the Duke
and Duchess €100,000 in damages.
Never one to shy away from rendering an opinion
on a matter of public controversy, Donald
Trump defended the photographers, and shamed
Duchess Kate, blaming her for the whole incident
"Kate Middleton is great--but she shouldn't
be sunbathing in the nude--only herself to
blame," he tweeted.
"Who wouldn't take Kate's picture and make
lots of money if she does the nude sunbathing
thing. Come on Kate!"
Trump may have heard the reports that the
Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry
weren't so keen on meeting with him.
That may also be a factor in why Melania made
a solo trip to the Toronto Invictus Games
in the fall of 2017.
The royal family keeps their political leanings
to themselves, but Meghan Markle made her
thoughts about Trump known before marrying
Prince Harry in May. The then-actress called
Trump "misogynistic" and said she would consider
staying in Canada if he won the 2016 election.
In December 2016, Prince Charles spoke publicly
about the dangers of populism and xenophobia.
He may well have been speaking of the climate—and
campaign tactics—that lead to Brexit, but
it's hard to ignore the veiled reference to
Trump's politics as well.
Charles, a noted environmentalist, may not
be a fan of Trump's record on climate change.
And in the forward of a recent book on the
topic, Charles wrote: "I hope this modest
attempt to alert a global public to the 'wolf
at the door' will make some small contribution
towards encouraging requisite action; action
that must be urgently scaled up, and scaled
up now."
In September of 2017, Melania Trump embarked
on her first solo international trip under
her husband's administration, a big step for
the presidential spouse who has taken her
time stepping into the role embraced by most
modern first ladies.
Following in the footsteps of her predecessor,
Michelle Obama, Melania attended the Invictus
Games in Toronto, an Olympics-style international
competition for wounded servicemen and women.
The Games are Prince Harry's passion project,
and in the past, he has recruited the American
president and his family to help support the
games. In 2016, the Queen even appeared in
a video to smack talk the U.S.
Though Melania did meet with Prince Harry
in Ontario, there was hardly the same cheeky
rapport between the Windsors and the first
family as in years past.
Given how Meghan spoke out against the Trump
campaign, it's no surprise that he wasn't
invited to her wedding, but in the end, no
political leaders attended the celebration.
"It has been decided that an official list
of political leaders–both UK and international–
is not required for Prince Harry and Ms. Markle's
wedding," a spokesperson said. "Her Majesty's
Government was consulted on this decision,
which was taken by The Royal Household."
