President Biden’s etiquette with the King is ‘unusual and impolite, but not offensive,’ expert says
PRESIDENT Joe Biden would have upset royal protocol by grabbing and touching King Charles during his whistlestop UK visit, a body language expert has said.
And she claimed the British monarch looked “challenged” as he “steered” the 80-year-old through the Windsor Castle meetup.
The US president was in London on July 10 for a snap visit before heading for a Nato summit in Lithuania.
After touching down at Stansted Airport, Biden met up with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at Downing Street.
From there the president attended his first-ever meeting with Charles in Windsor.
While discussions with the freshly-crowned King would have moved away from all things Nato, this was not an official visit.
It also came after Biden missed the King’s coronation in June.
The Royal office appeared to have bent over backward for the 46th president of the United States.
Biden was treated to a hefty dose of British pomp and circumstance including inspecting the Guard of Honor.
But while Royal protocol suggests people should not touch a monarch until they touch you, Biden appeared to fall short.
In an exclusive interview, body language expert Judi James told The U.S Sun: “For a greeting like a handshake, the protocol is for the royal to extend their hand first.
“Biden’s forthcoming touch rituals might not have been offensive but they would have been unusual.
“The general guideline refers to not touching a royal until they touch you first.
“For Charles, this would mean never because he has never been a tactile royal.
“For Biden, Charles seemed to be a touch magnet.
“Biden treated the King as he might a cherished friend that he had not seen for a while.
“The leaders greeting handshake involved close torso proximity.
“This was performed inside what is known as the intimate zone of friendship in terms of spatial behaviors.
“Their heads even leaned in closer and this was Biden’s first touch.
“His left hand grabbed Charles’s upper arm and kept the grip up for five long seconds.
“Charles then began a vital ritual of ongoing steering gestures.
“The walking in front protocol is said to be based on hierarchy, meaning no one in the UK would walk in front of a King or Queen.
“However the hierarchy aspect changes with a head of state or foreign royal visit.
“These days it might be seen as ‘polite but not required’ in the case of a US president.”
As the pair continued with their meeting, signs of Royal protocol adherence and etiquette mastery went awry.
“Charles placed a hand behind Biden’s back to steer him again fairly gently,” added Judi.
“But Biden seemed to consider this a friendship ritual that needed reciprocation.
“He then placed his own hand on Charles’s upper back, where it remained for another long seven seconds.
“Charles continued the pointing and steering gestures.
“Things fell out of kilter when Biden started re-steering back.
“He ushered Charles to walk ahead when Charles was ushering him.
“By the time the two men walked into the parade ground, Charles was using windmill gestures in a bid to steer the President again.
“In response, he got a five-second back-pat as they walked back.
“Even when Charles tried to usher Biden inside, Biden was re-ushering him.”
Biden is not the only global leader who has not taken the utmost care with his maneuvers in front of a British monarch.
Whoever is gifted these historical moments, the easiest way to remember them is you can look but you can never touch them.
One of the most famous pieces of Royal protocols is how to walk when the monarch is near.
As no one outranks the King in Britain, the overarching rule is that no one is to walk in front of him.
This would even include his wife Camilla, the Queen Consort, and The Cambridges.
Following royal etiquette also means never touching a royal when they have not initiated contact themselves.
“Whatever the etiquette, this still a sweet display, with both men looking rather of age,” revealed Judi.
“They helped each other, especially as Biden did seem to walk awkwardly.
“Their mood seemed light-hearted as they both chuckled a lot together.
“A couple of self-comfort pocket pats from Charles did suggest he was finding the ushering of the President to be rather challenging.
“Biden’s facial expression did, in between smiles and laughter, seem to register pain or awkwardness.
“During his longer walks his features seemed to scrunch up as they might from physical discomfort.
“This was when he was walking rather awkwardly.”
This was not the first time a US head of state has greeted a royal and looks to have made a meal of it.
In 2021, the world leader was at Windsor Castle and did not remove his sunglasses during the start of the visit.
Donald Trump broke protocols when going in for a handshake instead of a bow, when he visited the Queen at Windsor Castle in 2018.
He walked in front of her and looked like he cut her off in front of onlookers. In 2019, he also touched her back at a state banquet
First Lady Michelle Obama had also broken this rule in 2009 when she hugged the queen in the middle of her visit to the UK.
“Biden performed a greater amount of tactile PDAs on King Charles in the space of half an hour than Camilla has during their entire marriage, “ explained Judi.
“Charles is an old-school royal who tends to avoid touch rituals in public apart from the formal handshake.
“His mother the late Queen was probably never touched in public by anyone apart perhaps from Michelle Obama.
“She placed an arm of warm affection around her back during their presidential visit.
“Then an Australian PM got less public approval for his gesture several years before.
“These signals are important because royal rituals can be tricky to navigate.
“Trump found that out when he walked ahead of the late Queen on his visit.
“Back then Trump completely blocked her from view and forced her to dodge out from behind him to catch up.
“Biden did walk in front of Charles down the parade line.
“But I do not think that was wrong since they usually do walk ahead to inspect the troops.”