Kate Middleton’s subtle gesture when walking next to William after spotting closeness of Donald and Melania Trump 

When the Prince and Princess of Wales met President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump upon their arrival at the Windsor estate on Wednesday, the four VIPs were filmed exchanging friendly words and warm gestures.

But, as William and Kate, both 43, escorted the Trumps across the grass to Victoria House where the King and Queen were waiting, the mother-of-three adjusted her immaculate burgundy outfit in a subtle way.

As royal fans have pointed out, Kate, who was walking to the right of William, elegantly swapped her miniature Chanel handbag from her left hand to her right hand.

The exchange, which observers believe was inspired by Mr and Mrs Trump’s loving hand-holding, revealed her instinctive desire to replicate the closeness of their US guests with William, a body language expert has suggested.

Royal protocol dictates that the Prince and Princess of Wales should not indulge in public displays of affection when taking part in official engagements – something which Kate was no doubt aware of at the time.

‘When they walk away from the helicopter, you see Kate notices the closeness between Donald and Melania, but then what occurs is that her brain notices this and you’ll see there is a shift of her handbag in her hands,’ Brian Durham from Huddle Culture told The Mirror.

‘And what this is, is that she notices that and she feels uncomfortable enough and her brain says move closer to William but because of that regimented royal protocol that’s been ingrained within her, all you get is a shift of the handbag, which indicates she wants to do it, but she regiments herself and recognises that spatial awareness.’

An eagle-eyed royal observer drew attention to Kate’s subtle gesture on X. Alongside a clip of the moment, the user wrote: ‘Kate appears out of place. Trump isn’t letting Melania’s hand go, Kate swapped the bag into the other hand so William can reach out for the hand but he didn’t.

‘The distance between Kate & William compared to the other two’.

But others were quick to point out that it wouldn’t have been appropriate for William to take Kate’s hand, with one person commenting: ‘These are actually perfectly normal actions: No Royals do PDA [public displays of affection] while carrying out professional duties.’

The X user then speculated: ‘President Trump always holds Melania’s hand while she walks on grass in stiletto heels in case a heel gets stuck.’

Another person agreed: ‘I didn’t think royals were allowed to hold hands. Maybe that’s why?’

While a third insisted: ‘They’re not allowed to hold hands while “on duty”.’

William allowed his personality to shine through yesterday when he showed off his sense of humour shortly after receiving the Trumps.

As he and Kate, and the President and First Lady, approached the King and Queen, William, who was engaged in conversation with Mr Trump, gestured to Charles and amusingly joked: ‘This is my father.’

Charles, who also appeared in good spirits, reciprocated by putting out his hand to greet the President while Camilla, who chose a striking blue dress and matching hat for the occasion, looked on. 

Mr Trump, 79, shook hands with the King, 76, and the pair chatted enthusiastically, with the President at one point warmly placing his hand on Charles’s arm.

The Trumps then joined the King and Queen, as well as William and Kate for a carriage procession through the Windsor estate towards the castle.

The King and Mr Trump could be seen conversing as the procession set off. The Queen and the First Lady were in the following carriage, and were also deep in discussion.

The Prince and Princess of Wales followed in the coach behind, and as the carriages proceeded along the route, the American and British national anthems were played.

After the Trumps landed on the lawn of the garden in the private Home Park in Windsor, William and Kate walked them to meet the king and queen at Victoria House in the Royal Kitchen Gardens at Frogmore.

This offered a personal, family-centred greeting especially for Mr Trump – but also embraced pomp and pageantry and the military theatrics he is known to adore.

There will be no public-facing engagements for the President during his trip, with thousands expected to take part in major protests against his two-day stay.

However, the Trumps still have a packed schedule, with Windsor Castle serving as the glittering backdrop for one of the biggest shows of royal power in decades on Wednesday night.

The US president was feted with a regal banquet at the end of the first day of his second State visit.

While he and the King swapped speeches and sat at the centre of the grand table, most eyes were on the trio of leading ladies.

The Princess of Wales was a vision in a couture gown by British designer Phillipa Lepley, over which she sported a full-length, hand-embroidered gold chantilly lace evening coat. She also wore earrings belonging to the late Queen and her favourite Lover’s Knot tiara.

Queen Camilla sported sapphire, from her tiara to the colour of her embroidered Fiona Clare dress.

Meanwhile, First Lady Melania Trump struck a note of modern style in an off-shoulder yellow dress with a clashing purple belt.  

As the King stood to give his speech, he toasted Britain’s ‘remarkable bond’ with the US.

In a warm and witty speech the monarch welcomed the Trumps to Windsor Castle, highlighting the two countries’ ‘unparalleled partnership’. 

But it also struck a serious tone, as the 76-year-old monarch spoke of ‘tyranny once again’ threatening Europe.

Trump nodded along as Charles turned to the American leader and said: ‘We and our allies stand together in support of Ukraine, to deter aggression and secure peace.’

Charles said: ‘This unique and important occasion reflects the enduring bond between our two great nations. Anchored by the deep friendship between our people, this relationship which, with good reason, we are our predecessors have long called ‘special’, has made us safer and stronger through the generations.

‘Our people have fought and died together for the values we hold dear… we have celebrated together, mourned together and stood together in the best and worst of times.’

The King did not shy away from referring to the War of Independence, saying: ‘My five times Great Grandfather, King George III, for his part, did not spare his worlds when he spoke of the revolutionary leaders.

‘Today, however, we celebrate a relationship between our two countries that surely neither Washington nor King George III could have possibly imagined. The ocean may still divide us, but in so many other ways we are now the closest of kin.’

He also amusingly referred to how in the 1970s President Richard Nixon, who was said to be ‘obsessed’ with the British Royal Family, tried to arrange a marriage between him and his daughter, Tricia.

‘Had the media succeeded in the 1970s in their own attempt at deepening the special relationship, I might have been married off within the Nixon family!’ he joked.

Highlighting cultural, scientific, defence, security, intelligence, military and environmental links between the UK and US, the King concluded by toasting our ‘remarkable bond’ and ‘shared commitment to independence and liberty’.

Trump opened his speech by saying ‘this is truly one of the highest honours of my life’. He drew laughter from the hall as he joked that he hoped he would be the only US president to have two state visits. 

He then praised the King for raising a ‘remarkable son’ in Prince William, and how Charles knew the names of all of the guests – even those ‘with bad names like XYZ-Q3’.

In a speech that appeared to slightly go off-script, the President talked about the beauty of Britain – and of the King.

In particular he praised his work with wounded veterans which, he said, ‘was like no-one else’.