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Donald Trump Confuses Camilla for Kate in Awkward Video — and the Queen Won’t Be Thrilled

Donald and Melania Trump’s second UK state visit on September 17 saw them attend a pompous banquet dinner held in their honor by King Charles and Queen Camilla. Naturally, the President conveyed his thanks to the royal family for the warm welcome, but not without a huge gaffe. A viral video from his banquet speech caught Donald looking directly at Kate Middleton while thanking 'the Queen'.

In the video, while Donald thanks the 'very, very special Queen,' but does not mention Camilla by name. The fact that he was looking at Middleton led many to wonder whether it was a case of genuine confusion or an intentional preference for the future Queen. Regardless of his actions, he thanked Charles and Camilla for their ‘extraordinary graciousness’ and stressed that he was ‘deeply grateful’ for having the honor of being the first US president to make a second state visit to the UK. 

After Donald’s embarrassing mix-up went viral on X (formerly Twitter), royal watchers couldn't help but say the same thing. A netizen argued, "He just forgot where she [Camilla] was for a moment." Another reasoned, "I noticed it but sort of put it down to the fact he thought briefly the Queen was sitting next to him, realized his mistake, and looked at Camilla." However, not everyone was convinced. A royal watcher asserted, "He admires Princess Catherine for what she's been through!" As the comments poured in, another quipped, "Camilla ain’t gonna like that."

It seems that Donald isn't the only one with a preference for Middleton over Camilla. Body language expert Judi James believed that Melania was more at ease with the Princess, too. She told the Daily Mail, "We saw a much less relaxed-looking version of Melania when she was being shown around Windsor Castle by the Queen. Although Camilla seemed to be chatting, there were fewer moments of emotional 'prods' like jokes or easygoing laughter during this outing." The body language expert noted that Middleton and Melania’s joint engagement with the Scout Squirrels, on the other hand, saw an "endearing, more relatable version of [her] and appears that it was Kate who brought it out of her with fun-bombing body language."

Interestingly, Camilla appears to be aware and uncomfortable with Middleton's popularity over her. Behind-the-scenes footage from the state visit showed the Queen Consort 'shooing' Middleton away while chatting with Melania. She was seen waving her hand and gesturing to the Princess of Wales to move along and join her husband. Middleton had initially stepped in to join Camilla and Melania in a conversation, which led to the Queen awkwardly watching and glancing around before asking her to move.