Joe Biden joined a long list of celebrities and politicians who have allegedly broken “protocol” during interactions with members of the royal family when he patted King Charles III on the back during a recent visit.
On Monday 10 July, the US president became the subject of internet speculation about whether or not he’d breached royal protocol when he met with the British ruler at Windsor Castle for their first formal meeting since Charles’ coronation.
After greeting one another with a handshake, the pair then made their way up to a platform to watch a band play each country’s national anthem, with Biden at one point seen placing his hand on the monarch’s back.
The friendly gesture instantly sparked accusations that the president had broken royal protocol, as protocol experts have previously warned against initiating “personal physical contact with a member of the royal family” unless they do so first.
However, according to a Buckingham Palace source who spoke to People, not only was the King “entirely comfortable” with the gesture, but Biden had, in fact, displayed “the correct protocol”.
The Palace source also denied reports that Biden broke protocol when he walked ahead of the King during the inspection of the Guard of Honour, a clarification from the Palace that came after former president Donald Trump faced similar accusations when he walked in front of the late Queen during a visit to Windsor Castle in 2018.
Although Biden reportedly did not breach royal protocol during his visit with the King, it wouldn’t be the first time that he, and other notable individuals, have allegedly broken the rules when it comes to the royal family.
From the US president to Anna Wintour and Billie Eilish, these are some high profile individuals who have been accused of breaking protocol.
Joe Biden
Biden’s recent visit to Windsor Castle was not his first interaction with the royal family, as the president has met with members of the royal family, including the late Queen, on a number of occasions. It was also not the first time that he has been accused of breaching protocol.
In June 2021, Biden met with the late monarch and and other world leaders to discuss the climate crisis. Days later, he and his wife Dr Jill Biden travelled to Windsor Castle to meet Queen Elizabeth for tea. Following the meeting, the president was accused of potentially breaking royal protocol for numerous infractions, including wearing his sunglasses, disclosing the topic of conversation, and arriving after the Queen.
According to the royal family’s website, there “are no obligatory codes of behaviour when meeting The Queen or a member of the [family], but many people wish to observe the traditional forms”.
However, according to former royal butler Grant Harrold, who spoke to Newsweek, President Biden should have removed his sunglasses before meeting with the Queen.
“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,” Harrold alleged. “It’s fine for Biden to have had sunglasses on but he should have removed them when he actually met the Queen.”
Harrold, a former butler to King Charles and Queen Camilla, then claimed “even royals remove sunglasses when they meet royals” and that Biden’s choice not to remove his aviators was a “breach of protocol”.
“Everyone else has to, it doesn’t matter who you are, even royals remove sunglasses when they meet royals. It’s one of those rules I always write about in my etiquette texts,” Harrold said. “It is a breach of protocol. I get the sun might have been shining in his eyes but the Queen didn’t have sunglasses on. Jill, the first lady, didn’t have sunglasses on.”
According to protocol experts, the accessory wasn’t the only “protocol breach,” as Biden also faced criticism after his motorcade appeared to arrive after the Queen’s at the climate meeting, despite etiquette experts Debrett’s saying that normally everyone should arrive “before the royal personage”.
Anna Wintour
Biden is not the only high-profile individual accused of a sunglasses protocol breach, as Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour faced similar backlash during a separate interaction with the Queen.
In 2018, Wintour sat next to the Queen in the front row at London Fashion Week. Wintour, who is renowned for her huge sunglasses, kept them on.
But, according to Harrold, the magazine editor should have removed her infamous accessory. Speaking to the Press Association, he said: “She should have removed them before being in the presence of the Queen, let alone in discussion.
“Eye contact is important while holding a discussion, and not removing sunglasses is the height of bad manners and a serious breach of royal protocol.”
However, Harrold did acknowledge that, “if the Queen gave her permission to keep them on then that would be acceptable,” but that this would “be unlikely”.
Billie Eilish
Although royal protocol seems largely up to interpretation, Billie Eilish previously revealed she believes she broke a few rules when she met members of the British royal family.
In 2021, the singer was introduced to the Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Kate, and Charles and Camilla, at the London premiere of the James Bond film No Time to Die.
While Eilish described the opportunity as “amazing” during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! she admitted that she may have accidentally broken some of the rules she was expected to follow, of which there was a “whole list”.
According to Eilish, she “tried” to follow protocol, but had been distracted by the normalcy and friendliness of the royal family.
“I tried to. I was planning on it and they were just so normal, like they didn’t make me feel like: ‘Oh, I’m scared, I can’t talk to them,’” Eilish explained. “They were very complimentary and they had all these questions for me and they were just very friendly and, like, funny and sweet.”
Roger Federer
Tennis star Roger Federer became one of the latest high-profile individuals accused of breaching protocol when he greeted Princess Kate at Wimbledon on Tuesday by placing his hand on her back rather than with a handshake or a bow.
LeBron James
LeBron James also breached protocol in a similar manner when he met with the Princess of Wales and her husband in 2014 after his Cleveland Cavaliers played the Brooklyn Nets.
While posing for photos, the basketball star placed his hand around Kate’s shoulders.
Michelle Obama
During a trip to the UK in 2009 with her husband, then-President Barack Obama, Michelle was photographed hugging the Queen.
Obama later reflected on the moment in her 2018 memoir Becoming, where she wrote that she didn’t realise until later that she had committed “what would be deemed as an epic faux pas”.
However, she claimed that, although she hadn’t “done the proper thing,” she had “at least done the human thing”.
“I daresay the Queen was okay with it, too, because when I touched her, she only pulled closer, resting a gloved hand lightly on the small of my back,” she added.
The Queen’s former dressmaker and close friend, Angela Kelly, also addressed the moment in her book, where she noted that the hug captured “an instant and mutual warmth” between the two women, and that, “in reality it was a natural instinct for the Queen to show affection and respect for another great woman”.
She wrote: “Much has been made about the meeting between Michelle and Her Majesty when an instant and mutual warmth was shared between these two remarkable women, and protocol was abandoned as they stood closely with their arms around each other’s backs.
“In reality it was a natural instinct for the Queen to show affection and respect for another great woman and really there is no protocol that must be adhered to.”
Donald Trump was accused of breaching royal protocol on a number of instances during his time as president, such as when he walked ahead of the Queen during an inspection of the Coldstream Guards at Windsor Castle in 2018.
At the time, The New York Times alleged that Trump had committed a “royal no-no” when he walked ahead of the monarch.
He also seemed to place a hand on the Queen’s back as she stood for a toast at the state banquet.
The Independent has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment.
