President Trump has been receiving the highest honors during his visit to the UK to meet with King Charles, with many reports claiming these high of honors have never been bestowed on any other world leader.
Watch the incredible moment here:
President @realDonaldTrump inspecting the Guard of Honor with King Charles 🇺🇸🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/OtFaUxKMyp
— Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) September 17, 2025
You have to admit, it is really something to see President Trump out in the lead and King Charles almost looking lost trying to catch up.
But…did President Trump break protocol?
Was he being rude?
Of course many immediately took to X to make those claims:
Of course Trump breaking protocol once again walking in front of the king like he did with the queen…..why do these people continue to roll out the red carpet for this uncultured slob pic.twitter.com/eDyu2bzbLP
— Wu Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) September 17, 2025
Donald Trump completely ignores protocol and leaves King Charles trailing behind him.
He walks off talking to the officer of the Guard. pic.twitter.com/IMgPcv1M37
— Chay Bowes (@BowesChay) September 17, 2025
But the truth is actually much different.
As you can see, King Charles deferred to President Trump clearly signaling for him to go first as a courtesy and honor:
The fake news reports are beginning to come in…. President Trump Broke Protocol by walking in front of King Charles. 🤣😂
It was actually King Charles himself who signaled for him to walk in front.https://t.co/KcWUECnp6k https://t.co/SXrEZwrj5q pic.twitter.com/jZR9oGr0mg
— MJTruthUltra (@MJTruthUltra) September 17, 2025
Grok confirms there was no breach of protocol:
No, this is not truly a breach of royal protocol.
ADVERTISEMENTDuring the inspection of a Guard of Honour at a state visit, the visiting head of state (in this case, Trump) is typically invited to lead the review of the troops as the honored guest, while the host monarch follows slightly behind or gestures them forward.
This aligns with similar past instances, such as Trump’s 2019 visit with Queen Elizabeth II, where Buckingham Palace clarified that walking ahead during the inspection did not violate protocol.
The same has been noted in other visits, like those by Presidents Biden and Macron, where no breach was found despite similar actions.
In the video from the post, King Charles appears to guide Trump ahead with a hand gesture, which is consistent with the guest taking the lead role. While some media and observers have called it a faux pas for dramatic effect, official royal guidance and precedents indicate it’s standard procedure.
Of course it was all very reminiscent of this moment years ago with Queen Elizabeth:
In 2018 Queen Elizabeth instructed Trump to walk ahead of her.
At :30 Second mark, watch her give the hand signal to President Trump. pic.twitter.com/vX2NGIIXFf— Santa Surfing (@SantaSurfing) September 17, 2025
Flashback: Donald Trump walk with Queen Elizabeth in 2018 #statevisit #trump https://t.co/K3dYvbTyW7 pic.twitter.com/379bZzlzEq
— War Updates FC (@k_c_shivansh) September 17, 2025
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