This Awkward Moment Brigitte Macron Tries To Hold Queen Camilla’s Hand… Fails

Twenty-five leaders from around the world gathered on Omaha Beach this Thursday, June 6, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings. This event commemorates what the Anglo-Saxons call “D-Day”, this day in 1944 when the Allies, especially the British, landed on these beaches of Calvados to lend a hand to French soldiers against the Nazi enemy. Therefore, a very solemn event, which, unfortunately, will also be remembered for the wrong steps of the French presidential couple. Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron initially arrived 20 minutes late, waiting for King Charles III and Queen Camilla, who had come from England for the occasion. We still don’t know the reasons for this delay, but as if that wasn’t enough, a few minutes after this bad taste, the cameras caught a very awkward moment between Brigitte Macron and Camilla Parker-Bowles.

The first lady of France and the Queen of England, both dressed in white, walked to the British memorial to each lay a wreath. In the pictures, as the Queen stands up and waits for her (again), Brigitte Macron appears to be struggling as the flower arrangement doesn’t hold up. When he finally gets to his feet and the two women take a few steps back to collect their thoughts, the president’s wife tries to take the British sovereign’s hand. But the latter does not respond to his request, on the contrary, he keeps his arm close to his body, assuming that he does not want to join the movement. A rejection which, apparently, Brigitte Macron did not immediately understand.

The meaning of the protocol

We have already seen the images of François Mitterrand and Helmut Kohl holding hands at the commemoration at Verdun on September 22, 1984, most famously. that members of the British royal family are not representatives like others. And you only have to look at their website to know that while there are “no mandatory rules of conduct” when meeting the Queen or a member of the royal family, there is an unwritten rule that says no more than a handshake; As such, in September 2023, Brigitte Macron had already made the surprising gesture of kissing Queen Camilla under the Arc de Triomphe before she and the president greeted the British royal couple on the first day of their visit at a three-day state conference.

However, it must be admitted that the rule is not always clear, and depending on the members of the royal family, the protocol is more or less strict. This same Thursday, June 6, while Brigitte Macron and Prince William were being filmed joking around, the first lady put her hand on the Prince of Wales’ arm. A gesture that didn’t seem to surprise him. We should also add that shortly before this embarrassing moment during the laying of flowers, King Charles III greeted Brigitte Macron with a kiss. Perhaps a sign that the touchy-feely French side is beginning to rub off on our British friends.