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President Biden might have broken royal protocol by wearing his signature sunglasses to meet the Queen

Jun 15, 2021, 01:27 IST
Insider
President Biden may have breached royal protocol when meeting the Queen.Pool / Samir Hussein / Contributor
  • President Biden met Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle on Sunday.
  • The president wore his sunglasses when he met the Queen, which could have breached royal protocol.
  • Biden isn't the first president to make a decorum faux pas in front of the Queen.
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President Biden may have made a royal faux pas when he met Queen Elizabeth.

The president first met the Queen in 1982 when he was a senator, but the G7 Summit provided him with the opportunity to be reintroduced to her as a fellow world leader.

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden spoke with the Queen during a reception for the Summit on Friday, but they formally met her at Windsor Palace on Sunday, where she hosted them for tea.

People are expected to follow royal traditions when meeting the monarch, which includes bowing or curtsying to her and referring to her as 'Your Majesty.'

The Bidens did not bow or curtsy to the Queen, but they did not shake her hand, adhering to tradition.

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However, the president left his sunglasses on during their initial conversation, which experts say may have breached royal protocol.

President Biden left his sunglasses on when meeting Queen Elizabeth.Chris Jackson / Staff / Getty Images

Biden kept his sunglasses on throughout the beginning of the visit, only taking them off halfway through the playing of the National Anthem during a ceremony at the castle's quadrangle.

The royal family website does not specifically state that sunglasses cannot be worn during a meeting with the Queen, but a former palace employee told Newsweek that the glasses break tradition.

"If you're meeting the Queen face-to-face, there's no sunglasses or anything like that at all because eye contact is quite important with any introduction," Grant Harrold, who served as a royal butler to Prince Charles, told Newsweek.

Biden isn't the first president to make a decorum error in front of the Queen.

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Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, background and US President of the United States Donald Trump walk from the Quadrangle after inspecting the Guard of Honour, during the president's visit to Windsor Castle,Richard Pohle/Pool Photo via AP

President Jimmy Carter kissed the Queen Mother on the mouth when he met the royal family in 1977, and President Trump broke royal protocol multiple times when he met the Queen in 2018.

He shook the Queen's hand, walked in front of her, and turned his back to her during their meeting.

The White House and Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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