Queen Maxima of the Netherlands has found herself at the center of controversy after being accused of imitating Donald Trump.
President Trump recently visited the Netherlands to participate in the NATO summit, which was held in The Hague over the course of two days, June 24 – 25.
During his time in the Netherlands, Trump, humorously referred to as ‘daddy’ by NATO official Mark Rutte, stopped by Huis ten Bosch Palace to meet with Queen Maxima and King Willem. The trio posed for photographs, where President Trump was seen grinning broadly and giving the cameras a thumbs up.
While the photos were being taken, the media also captured video footage, and Queen Maxima appeared to momentarily forget this. In a clip circulating online, she seems to imitate the president’s mouth movements after he said ‘thank you’.
The queen then noticed the camera capturing her actions, creating a moment reminiscent of the television show The Office, before the camera quickly panned away.
See it here:
Although Queen Maxima may have hoped the moment would go unnoticed, it hasn’t, and people are sharing their reactions.
“Queen Maxima mimicking Trump’s mouth movements really got me,” one person commented.
“Poor lady just got herself an entire Truth social post,” another added.
Someone else asked, “WAIT A MINUTE WAS QUEEN MAXIMA OF THE NETHERLANDS MIMICKING DONALD TRUMP?”
There were also suggestions that the queen was mocking Trump.
“This is hilarious,” another said. “I’ve never been a fan of our stiff monarchy, but Queen Maxima rocks it! Treat him like a baby.”
However, some viewers were less amused by her actions and criticized the queen.
One person described it as ‘disrespectful’, while another angrily stated: “What an unprofessional & b*tchy thing to do, not only for a woman of her age & position, but for a royal. I hope this gets back to President Trump (which it will, everything always does) & he acts upon it! What an a**sehole of a thing to do in front of the whole world.”
Body language expert Darren Stanton, speaking on behalf of Genting Casino, analyzed the photos of the three: “The photo of Trump, the King, and Queen Maxima shows the Queen to be the more dominant of the two Dutch royals.”
“The King can be seen looking ahead with the same self-soothing gesture, covering his abdomen, but the Queen is turned directly to Trump and mirroring his gestures – almost trying to assert her own dominance.”