President Donald Trump used his makeup-slathered hand to greet King Charles III as his U.K. state visit officially got underway.
The president, 79, landed at Stansted Airport near London on Tuesday evening and stayed at Windsor Castle, reportedly in a separate room from his wife, Melania. On Wednesday morning, Trump rose for a full day of pomp and pageantry, kicking off proceedings with an official state welcome.
Trump greeted King Charles, Queen Camilla, the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, and William, Prince of Wales, with his oft-bruised right hand, which, as has become customary, was caked in concealer.
Trump shook hands with the British king, three years his junior at a spritely 76, before being guided around the grounds of the 11th-century estate for various made-for-TV encounters.
The first victims of his oily paw were the prince and princess of Wales, who greeted him as he clambered out of Marine One and onto the sprawling grounds.
Then came the king and queen, who shook hands with the president as he approached them at the entrance to the castle.
Moments later, Trump was invited to inspect the Guard of Honor and given a sword salute by a Scots Guard before being bundled into a fairytale horse-drawn carriage alongside the first lady and the two most senior royals.
Trump’s increasingly signature wobbly walk was on full display the day before, as he made his way between Marine One and Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland ahead of his flight to the U.K.
Trump made the short walk between the two flying machines, somehow veering so far off course that he stumbled out of the TV cameras’ coverage of the departure.
Probed on whether this was a result of a known vein deficiency in his legs, White House comms boss Steven Cheung sent a sweary response to the Daily Beast.
“You must be f---ing blind or stupid, because that was a perfect walk,” he said.
It is the third time in recent weeks his stagger has captured attention, with his zig-zagging dash along the red carpet he rolled out for Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last month coming just days before a video appeared to show the president struggling to move his legs with any fluidity during a golf trip.
His hands, too, have been under similar scrutiny. The White House has consistently maintained that there is no cause for concern.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt previously waved off the bruising on Trump’s hand as “minor soft issue irritation” caused by “frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin, which is taken as part of a standard cardiovascular prevention regime.”
The Trump administration has not commented on his droopy face, on show during a 9/11 memorial last week.
