When President Trump met Queen Elizabeth II, it appeared as though the occasion went smoothly.
However, bits of information started to come out that stated otherwise. Footage of President Trump walking in front of Her Majesty caused a stir, as it completely broke royal protocol.
It was also noted that the president and his wife neglected to bow before the Queen. While this is not obligatory, considering Americans are not her subjects, it is considered respectful and good manners to do so.
Trump also made Her Majesty wait 12 minutes for their scheduled tea time, which is a big royal no-no. Guests of the queen are expected to arrive before her, and are certainly not supposed to be late.
But Twitter user Julie, who goes by @SamuraiKnitter, pointed out that Queen Elizabeth II was able to get in some subtle jabs of her own.
"I'm a jewelry watcher, so I wind up looking at lots of pics of royal state banquets, right? Which helps you pick up a whole lot of interesting stuff about that level of etiquette," she began.
All right. So you need ninety-two years of background. The Queen (hereafter QE) has always loved brooches and so everyone gives them to her as gifts. Everyone. A horse-racing org gave her a gift for lifetime achievements a while back - the 'trophy' was a brooch. You get it.QE also does hundreds and hundreds of appearances, and maybe 95% or higher, she wears a brooch. And the brooch is ALWAYS significant. Badges of military regiments - she inspects some troops, she wears the badge of them to do it.
A head of state gives her a brooch? If they visit she'll wear it or something else she'd been given by them as a gift. (This goes for other kinds of jewelry too.) To her it's almost like royal orders.
That said, she wore three brooches while she and [Trump] were both in town. The day he arrived, the day of the banquet, and the day she actually met him for tea. (BTW, he let her wait 12min for him to show up for tea. He showed up late to tea WITH THE QUEEN OF [expletive] ENGLAND.)
Brooch #1
Arrival day was the [brooch] that got the most attention. That day, she wore the brooch the Obamas gave her on their last visit to England.
That by itself is amusing enough. She wore a brooch the Obamas gave her. But it gets better. It's not AN American brooch, any would be funny. She choose THIS ONE. This one was purchased out-of-pocket by Michelle and Barack Obama and given to her as a personal gift.
The US has given QE jewelry before over the years and I bet her dresser could put hands on any and all of it given five minutes. But she chose the most SENTIMENTAL piece in the collection, the one that was given OUT OF FRIENDSHIP WITH THE OBAMAS AS PEOPLE.
Brooch #2
Next day, next brooch. This was a day of audiences with people, she does that to maintain the Commonwealth at least one day a week. That day was the King and Queen of Belgium for tea as well. She wore a sapphire brooch.It's called the Sapphire Jubliee Brooch, and it was given to the Queen of England as a gift for ruling for eleventy billion (okay, 65). From Canada. You know, who Trump's been screaming about and insulting. The commonwealth country and one of the UK's greatest allies. Them.
It contains over ten carats of sapphires in several shades of blue, and is just stunning.
If QE knew the snowflake term, it's absolutely why this brooch was chosen. It's never been worn before[.]
Brooch #3
And for the day of the tea, QE wore an innocuous 'nice but holy sh*t, considering what's in the vaults' diamond brooch she inherited from her mother.
Jewel watchers nearly died, because it's the brooch worn in the famous "Three Queens In Mourning" photo, worn by the Queen Mum.
QE rolled up to tea with the [Trumps] wearing the brooch her mother wore to her father's STATE FUNERAL.
The suit she wore to tea is the exact same one she wore to open Parliament after the post-Brexit reorganization. "I think this is now her Official Outfit of I Don't Wanna."
In the end, a brooch is a brooch. But many people were quick to point out that the Queen never does anything by accident.
"Her Majesty has weaponized her wardrobe for 70 years," one user said. "She does NOT make mistakes and there are no coincidences in what she wears, from shoes to jewelry."
"I am very sure she did it deliberately - she is very clever," another commented. "She may not get to chose [sic] who she is forced to spend time with, but she can sure as hell carefully chose [sic] what jewelry to wear. A gesture can be worth a thousand words."
"That was a very interesting piece to read. I knew that the Queen has a thing for brooches, but never associated it with expressing subtly her views," another mentioned. "She is a fascinating, strong and courageous woman and I hope she reigns as long as possible."
Do you think Queen Elizabeth II chose these brooches on purpose?
[H/T Twitter]