Camilla snubs Brigitte Macron at D-Day Anniversary, rejecting her gesture of warmth

[TallerSally]

Well, isn't this a funny one.

Foreign heads of state are under no obligation to respect protocols of foreign royalty, particularly in their own country.

Seems Camilla didn't get the memo:

"Queen Camilla, 76, and Brigitte, 71, had an awkward moment on June 6 during a service marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day Landings in Normandy, France. As seen in a video shared to X by the Daily Mail, French President Emmanuel Macron's wife tried to hold the royal's hand after they laid wreaths at the British Normandy Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer. However, Queen Camilla didn't reciprocate, keeping her arm at her side. After briefly grasping the royal's hand, Brigitte stepped to the side and folded her arms in front of her.
Proper etiquette around interacting with the British royals has long been a highly discussed subject. The royal family's website, which has yet to be updated in full following the death of Queen Elizabeth in September 2022, states, "There are no obligatory codes of behavior when meeting The Queen or a member of the royal family, but many people wish to observe the traditional forms."

Funnily enough, Charles himself didn't follow royal protocol:

"Proving that there are no hard and fast rules around how to say hello, King Charles, 75, greeted President Macron with a hug at the British Normandy Memorial and kissed his wife's hand."

I guess Camilla's more royal than the royals themselves?

https://people.com/queen-camilla-brigitte-macron-awkward-moment-royal-avoids-holding-hands-d-day-anniversary-event-france-8659266

@DingDingaling "dowdy Englishwoman"? What an unpleasant expression. She's 76 years old and representing the UK at a very solemn event. She is dressed entirely appropriately, because it's not about her.
It's about the event.

I think that for all these events Charles, Camilla, William, Anne, Sophie and Edward have dressed and behaved appropriately, with decorum and modesty.
They all understand that it's not about them.
They are focussing on the event and the veterans, talking to many and hearing their stories.
That's what it's about. Not the clothes, hairstyles or some silly hand hold non event.
The DDay Commemorations.
Some people don't seem to understand that.

DingDingaling · Today 00:16
@TallerSally

I had to smile, again, at the frenzied, international reporting of the ‘snub’ directed by the Consort towards the elegantly chic French woman. If you look back at the previous coverage of these two it states how warm they are together, share giggles and a budding friendship etc etc. However, In some of the previous photos I could also see a vibrant, engaging and very sweet French lady with a rather dowdy Englishwoman (despite the overly coiffured white Dianaesque hair and new wardrobe) who is probably missing her wellies and dogs. 😊☔️

I agree with pps that this is a pretty desperate thread, and shows the sort of people lining up on Team Meghan, as they would see it.

'Dowdy Englishwoman'. Let's deconstruct that, shall we? I bet the poster puts these words together in their minds regularly - and it betrays a tedious anti-English attitude which a certain demographic feel is cool. The history of fashion indicates that the British have been hugely innovative in the world of fashion - more so than the notoriously conservative French (love that style, but it's not known for its innovation, and can also be 'dowdy' with its navy-blue and silk scarf look).

I long ago realised that there are not so much dowdy clothes so much as a dowdy figure. I think I have the latter! A tall, slender friend once tried on my clothes and looked amazing....but sadly on me they looked decidedly dowdy. Camilla has a different figure to Mme Macron, who is blessed with an incredibly slender, petite form and clothes just love that body-type. I'm not judging one against the other, but if you aim for chic it certainly helps to look like Madame.

Anyway, dowdy is (if you like to take offence on a professional level) a misogynistic word since it's applied pretty exclusively to women, and older women too, just to make sure they feel super-put-down. Well done, DingDingaling! You sound charming.

On a personal note - my daughter made Camilla's pink outfit, which was made for Meghan's wedding and which C has worn a couple of times since then. She worked for Anna Valentine as an embroidery designer at the time, and bits of the dress were once on our sofa! She didn't design the ensemble - but she put it together. I think Anna Valentine (who did her wedding dress) always tried to push Camilla towards more minimalism and some subtle greys etc, but Camilla likes her pastels, and good for her! My daughter said Camilla arrived in an old care and was humble, kind and warm.

So there! I hope that answers the bitchy remarks from DingDingaling.

Excellent points, @CoffeeCantata .
How interesting about your daughter, and you're spot on about the misogyny. 👏

Just to be clear - I'm referring to the pink ensemble Camilla wore the previous day. She looked amazing in the white outfit, and Brigitte Macron looked stunning in hers too.

Both older women looking superb, I think, with different shapes and styles, but not flamboyant, which suited the solemn occasion. They both got it right.

What about Katherine? She will be the Queen at some point. And QEQM who was the Queen for 14 years? And Alexandra and Mary before her who were all the Queen? Do you really not think of any of them as the Queen between Victoria and QEII or is the ire/faux inability to consider her the Queen reserved for Camilla?

Excellent post and how amazing that your talented daughter has worked on that lovely pink outfit!
I would just add that I have both lived in France, near Paris and worked with the French from many different parts of the country and they can do “dowdy” to borrow that rather derogatory and misogynistic word as well as any other nationality. I also agree that there is a very uniform way of dressing, particularly in Paris, which is very chic and polished but is often lacking in individuality

This. Mrs Macron was late and may have been flustered leading to the problems she had with laying the wreath. Perhaps she wanted to hold hands as she knew the media would focus on that rather than the mess she made of laying the wreath.

Same. She's the king's wife, Queen Consort. I honestly thought they'd call her something else. Her and Charles had an affair, broke up two families and messed with the MH of a much younger woman. I don't think people should refer to her as Queen without the Consort.

I don't like random people touching me either.

Every wife of a king is the Queen consort. We just don’t normally call them that. The late Queen’s mother was just “the Queen”. The problem is that we have got so used to having a Queen regnant (ie as monarch in their own right), that it seems odd to us that Camilla is now the Queen. There is no reason to call her anything else. Don’t forget, Diana would have just been “the Queen” if she was still alive and married to Charles and as op have noted, Catherine will just be “the Queen” too
eta just because you personally don’t think it should be so is if no importance constitutionally

Camilla's husband had been having affairs for years before she rekindled her relationship with Charles, so it's hardly fair to blame Camilla for breaking up her first marriage.

Diana was also guilty of having affairs. The marriage to Charles should never have happened - but Charles isn't the only one to blame. Diana presented herself as his ideal woman, and he was under pressure from 'above' to marry

If Diana's children don't have a problem (and leaving aside the swivel-eyed conspiracy theorists hiding behind their screens, they clearly don't) maybe your opinion is totally, utterly, thankfully irrelevant.

100%

And this was all thoroughly hashed out in at least three full threads in September 2022.

What a pile of bullshit. Stop making something out of a total non-event.

To those refusing to consider Camilla Queen, of course she is. Queen Consort is usually shortened to Queen, just as Queen Regnant also is. Use a smidge of common sense!

Ok thanks for your input, Camilla!

Indeed. I think I saw you on many of them.

Queen Mary, the Queen Consort and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Consort etc (before she was widowed and became Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.) How this is still news to people is baffling.

It's quite funny really. It's the fact that these people walk among us and are (presumably) adults, with jobs and families etc.
Their children hopefully are slightly less ignorant.

Brigitte isn't a head of state or anything else.

I believe that Brigitte is well known for her sense of humour and Camilla probably suspected that she had one of these hand-buzzer things.

I don’t think it’s still news. This is all just a way of introducing some “Camilla bashing” to coin a phrase. Criticism of her interactions with Mme Macron, her clothes and now the fact that she is called “the Queen” are all common tropes of this who see her as “the enemy”
Moralising about her and Charles’ past is irrelevant. They seem to be a good couple and they work well together. All those howling about how she broke up a marriage, I wonder if you insist on the same standards for everyone? Should we all stay in a relationship that isn’t working just “because”? Life and love are messy and most of the people involved here seem to have managed to recognise this, be adult about it and move on
Others are just looking for someone else to blame for their own behaviour instead of taking responsibility themselves

Camilla did it perfectly! You could almost hear her saying " oh for gods sake woman get the wreath in place " 😂 . This is how protocol looks in a formal military setting. A photo would be taken. Could you imagine how it would look if they were standing there holding hands like a couple of children🙄

Completely agree

What was the silly woman doing trying to hold Camilla’s hand? Really odd.

Camilla handled it perfectly.

Nobody’s that interested folks, wake up!