King Charles made a telling self-comforting gesture that suggested he struggled with US President Joe Biden's confusing ushering - before being charmed, a body language expert has said.
The American leader is on a fleeting visit to the UK but made time to stop by Windsor Castle today to have talks with Charles before joining delegates from the Climate Finance Mobilisation Forum.
Mr Biden arrived at the castle after talks with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Downing Street earlier today - and a fleet of helicopters carrying the president, whose aircraft has the call sign Marine One, his entourage, security and travelling White House press corps landed on Windsor Castle’s east terrace around 10 minutes before formalities began.
Charles stepped from a dais to meet the president as the door of a large chauffeur-driven vehicle, which had swept onto the castle’s quadrangle, was opened. The King warmly greeted the American leader, shaking hands with Mr Biden as a guard of honour stood nearby.
As the two men exchanged a few words while still shaking hands, Mr Biden touched the King’s right arm with his free hand, and Charles returned the gesture. And body language expert Judi James noted this tactile display, which she said made them look like "old pals".
She told the Mirror: "As Charles tried to do the regal thing of gently and subtly steering his guest to avoid the kind of choreographic catastrophe that happened when Trump stepped in front of the late Queen during his visit, forcing her to peer and dodge round him to play catch-up on the parade ground, he quickly found Biden had other plans, leading to two moments when each man was trying to usher the other up onto or off the dais.
"When Charles placed a hand behind Biden’s back to steer him gently, Biden treated it like an old pals gesture and placed his own arm above the King's. Biden’s hugely tactile display towards Charles involved at least four PDAs, suggesting Zara has some catching up to do in being the person who uses the most tactile behaviour on her uncle in public.
"Biden’s hand gripped Charles’s upper arm during their handshake and his other hand was placed on Charles’s back when they walked up towards the dais. The hand of friendship returned to Charles’s back after the review of the troops, and in the end, the gesture looked mutual, with both men laughing together with wreathed, face-crinkling smiles and both touching the other on the back."
However, Judi did notice a moment when the King looked "rather discombobulated" but soon was charmed by the president. She added: "Charles had looked rather discombobulated when the pair had their first co-ushering confusion and a pocket-pat self-comfort ritual suggested he might be struggling, but by the end, he was pointing and chuckling, having succumbed to Biden’s ‘Two gentlemen of a certain age’ charm routine and become a bit more tactile than usual himself."
The King and the president last met on the eve of the late Queen’s funeral last September, when a reception was held for dignitaries ahead of the national event.
The visit to Windsor was part of a busy day for the president, who is making a layover in London on the way to the Nato summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. It had all the trappings of a more formal state visit, with a private exchange of gifts, alongside the tea and viewing of the mini-display of Royal Collection items.
A spokesperson for the King said about the Windsor Castle event: "An extremely cordial and successful meeting that touched on a wide variety of issues of mutual interest and concern. You will have seen for yourselves the personal warmth between His Majesty and the president."
