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On Wednesday a video of the Queen and Princess Anne went viral for seemingly showing the monarch telling off her daughter for not greeting US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania when they arrived for a NATO reception at Buckingham Palace.
In the short clip, The Queen, Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla greet The Trumps before Her Majesty looks as if she’s in search of her daughter, who she spots standing off to the side.
Looking as if she was motioning for her daughter to join the receiving line, Princess Anne raises her arms and gives the Queen a big shoulder shrug, much to the amusement of many Twitter users who not only loved the mother-daughter interaction but also believed she may have intentionally snubbed the Trumps.
WATCH: Did The Queen just tell Princess Anne off for not greeting the Trumps? Story continues below…
The Guardian writer Hannah Jane Parkinson tweeted Princess Anne “is the mood we all need to take into today,” while many Twitter users have named her their favourite member of the Royal Family.
However, it’s now come to light that this isn’t exactly what happened, with The Times journalist Valentine Low revealing the truth behind the viral moment in a thread of tweets.
While the rebellious young Princess Anne may be top of mind for many people, courtesy of the third season of The Crown, it seems her interaction with her mother was a little more innocent than the internet had made out.
“Ok, here goes… Princess Anne: the truth,” Valentine began on Twitter.
“No, she didn’t snub the Trumps. And she wasn’t told off by the Queen. Instead the Queen, after greeting the Donald (and Melania), turned to Anne to see who was next. But there wasn’t anyone waiting: Trump was the last leader to be received by the Queen.
“Anne raised her hands in the air, laughed and said: ‘It’s just me,’ adding a moment later ‘and this lot’ as she pointed to the members of the household behind her.”
He adds, “This excellent bit of sleuthing comes from the very wonderful Laura Elston of the Press Association, who is as impartial a witness as you could hope for.”
Royal snub and telling off or not, we still can’t get past that priceless shoulder shrug.
Princess Anne (left) was known for being a bit of a rebel in her youth, shown in the new season of Netflix’s The Crown. (Image: Getty)
The clip in question isn’t the only video from the reception to have gone viral that involves Princess Anne. Another video captured at Buckingham Palace seems to show Princess Anne, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte talking about President Trump and why he was “always late”.
The reception at Buckingham Palace was held to mark 70 years of the NATO alliance, with NATO leaders and their partners invited to the palace to celebrate the milestone anniversary.
Helping the Queen host were also several members of the royal family including, of course, Princess Anne, Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla, The Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.
Prince Edward was set to attend the event also but unfortunately had to cancel last minute due to illness.
Other notable absences included The Duke of Cambridge, who is currently on a royal tour of Kuwait and Oman; The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who are on an extended break from royal duties; and of course, Prince Andrew, who has stepped back from royal duties following the uproar over his relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the allegations laid against him by one of Epstein’s alleged victims.
The allegations have been categorically denied by him and Buckingham Palace.
