President Donald Trump famously called handshakes a “barbaric” ritual in the years before he became president. Nevertheless, in his career as a politician, he’s been expected to take part — and his handshakes have consistently raised eyebrows.
His greeting of King Charles III and Queen Camilla on Monday afternoon for the king’s visit to the United States was no different, with one body language expert referring to the exchange as an all-out “battle” between the two men.
Norms are being flouted from the outset.
When it comes to royals, there are a lot of rules for how, when and in what manner you’re going to approach them, how and if you make physical contact, etc.
“Typically there’s etiquette rules overall, there’s political etiquette and then there’s royal etiquette,” Patti Wood, psychologist, body language and nonverbal communication expert, told HuffPost. “And this breaks all those rules.”
