Melania meets Maxima! First Lady welcomes elegant Dutch Queen,
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands arrived at the White House yesterday for an overnight stay with Donald and Melania Trump.
The Dutch royals, who attended on the invitation of President Donald Trump, 79, stayed at the White House for dinner and a one-night stay as part of their three-day working visit to Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Miami.
Maxima, 54, looked elegant in a long-sleeved orange dress while Melania, looking similarly glamorous, opted for a bolder, monochrome frock.
The American president and his wife were seen waiting on a red carpet before welcoming the Dutch royal couple and the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Rob Jetten, for an evening of opulence.
Willem-Alexander, 58, exchanged a handshake and warm smiles with Trump upon arrival, both dressed in navy suits, as their wives stood beaming beside.
Their trip to visit the Trumps in the States comes after King Charles and Queen Camilla revealed similar plans to visit the White House at the end of the month.
The decision has proved controversial, and yesterday Keir Starmer rejected a fresh demand to cancel the King’s upcoming state visit over Donald Trump’s behaviour.
The Prime Minister said that Charles’ trip to Washington with the Queen would celebrate the two nations’ shared history, as the president was labelled a ‘dangerous and corrupt gangster’.
They will visit the US at the end of April to mark 250 years since it won independence, with engagements including a glittering State Banquet at the White House thrown by Trump.
However, questions have been raised about whether they should be visiting at a time when the president’s frequent criticism of the UK has left the ‘special relationship’ in tatters and wider Transatlantic relations at a low not seen in decades.
The Dutch royal’s visit comes after Queen Maxima set the record straight on what she really said after she appeared to ‘mock’ Donald Trump live on television last year.
In July, the Dutch royal stood next to Trump and her husband as they posed for pictures after the US president arrived in the European country for the NATO summit.
While making small talk, Maxima appeared to ‘mock’ the way Trump’s mouth moved and pulled a face before turning towards the cameras.
The split-second reaction didn’t go unnoticed by eagle-eyed social media users, who wrote: ‘You have to watch how Queen Maxima of the Netherlands mocks Trump’s speaking right in front of him.’
Writing on X/Twitter, CNN editor Vani Mehrotra observed: ‘Did she really do that? Queen Maxima of the Netherlands is believed to be mocking Donald Trump.’
But during the royal family’s annual summer photo session later that month, Maxima set the record straight.
Maxima, speaking to Dutch outlet AD, clarified what happened, telling reporters: ‘I said “thank you” to someone who had helped’, adding that meeting the president had been a ‘pleasant experience’.
Meanwhile, her eldest daughter and heir to the throne, 22-year-old Princess Catharina-Amalia, said it was ‘really cool’ she had the opportunity to meet ‘the president of America’.
Elsewhere in the clip, the trio was seen smiling for the cameras as Trump gave a thumbs-up.
Trump and the King made small talk and shared a laugh while Maxima stayed on the sidelines and continued to smile.
