As the United States and United Kingdom sought to bolster their “special relationship” on Tuesday in Washington, Queen Camilla and first lady Melania Trump were seen but not heard.
Dressed in white ensembles, the women joined their husbands for an official welcome ceremony at the White House, where they walked a red carpet and observed all the pomp and circumstance: a 21-gun cannon salute, the playing of both national anthems, the U.S. Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps in tricorn hats, and warm remarks from President Donald Trump.
Then, as King Charles III and the president met privately, the first lady and the queen retreated to the tennis pavilion for a spousal outing featuring historical artifacts, with a modern twist. Over string renditions of pop songs, it was nearly impossible for reporters to hear as they engaged with local middle school students in an event highlighting the use of new technologies in education.
The moment and its stagecraft spoke to how both Melania Trump and Queen Camilla are approaching their roles during this state visit, which comes at a time of strained relations between the U.K. and the U.S. over the war with Iran.
“Neither one of them is stealing any of the spotlight here,” said Elizabeth Holmes, an independent journalist chronicling the royal family and author of “HRH: So Many Thoughts on Royal Style.”
“In this case, Charles and Trump are very much the focal point. And I would bet both men appreciate that. Certainly, Charles has had times in his life when he was not the focal point,” Holmes added. “They are both representative of women that need to play this supporting part.”
On one side of the White House tennis court, Melania Trump and Camilla viewed a tablet showing what the students clad in Meta virtual reality goggles could see: landmarks of the United Kingdom, including Snowdonia, Stonehenge and Buckingham Palace.
Other students wore AI-enabled sunglasses that enhanced a series of artifacts curated by the first lady: a bust of Prime Minister Winston Churchill; a portrait of President John Adams, who was also the first U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom; and blue-and-white Staffordshire ceramic ware.
The use of new technology (a key platform of Melania Trump’s) to observe historical artifacts (a passion of the queen’s) offered an outing neatly tailored to both women’s interests.
After Trump briefly put on her own set of sunglasses, a student inquired with Camilla whether she was interested in doing the same, underscoring the off-script moments that can happen when children are involved in diplomatic events.
“You want to try these?” the boy asked the queen, removing his glasses. She shook her head with a polite “no.”
This trip marks the third time the two women have met in a state visit setting and the first time Queen Camilla has visited the White House since her husband ascended to the throne. Last September, during the Trumps’ state visit to the U.K., the queen and the first lady toured Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House and the Royal Library together. And while they are friendly acquaintances, the women aren’t particularly close.
“I don’t know of any sort of established relationship between the first lady and the queen, nor do I think there necessarily has to be one,” Holmes said, adding, “This, to me, feels very much like the first lady and the queen are going through the motions of what their role requires.”
Part of that requirement is the exchange of gifts between the Trumps and the royal couple. The queen gifted the first lady a brooch from British jewelry designer Fiona Rae, whose work, Buckingham Palace noted, is a “fusion of traditional craft skills alongside the latest developments in technology and computer-aided design” — a possible nod to Melania Trump’s interest in AI and advancing technologies. And the first lady gave the queen six teaspoons from Tiffany & Co.’s “English King” sterling silver collection, along with a jar of White House honey — a reflection of Camilla’s interest in beekeeping.
One topic that did not come up during Tuesday’s 20-minute spousal outing but is an elephant in the room throughout the royal visit: Both women have had to wrangle with fallout from the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Earlier this month, Melania Trump issued a stunning statement forcefully distancing herself from the pedophile and calling on Congress to hold public holdings allowing his victims to testify on Capitol Hill.
And in the U.K., the royal family has distanced itself from the former Prince Andrew, the king’s brother. The king and queen do not plan to accept a request to meet with Epstein survivors during their four-day visit to the U.S., CNN has reported.
Camilla, who has sought to become a vocal advocate for survivors of sexual abuse, will have multiple meetings in the U.S. with representatives of groups campaigning against domestic violence.
But on Tuesday, it was the king who did the talking — albeit in very vague terms — as his wife looked on from the House chamber during his address to Congress.
“In both of our countries, it is the very fact of our vibrant, diverse and free societies that gives us our collective strength, including to support victims of some of the ills that, so tragically, exist in both our societies today,” the 77-year-old sovereign said, without mentioning Epstein.
