It is one thing to admire someone from afar. It is another to make sure their portrait hangs alone, without competition. That is exactly what Donald Trump did with a copy of Queen Elizabeth II's final official portrait and the story behind it, shared by one of Britain's most respected royal writers, offers a surprisingly personal glimpse into the former and current US President's genuine reverence for the late monarch.
Robert Hardman, whose decades of royal reporting recently led him to publish Elizabeth II: In Private. In Public. The Inside Story, opened up about an unexpected moment during a visit with Trump. He recalled that Trump had just taken delivery of a reproduction of the very last portrait the Queen sat for before her passing. What stood out was not just that Trump owned it, but that he was genuinely deliberating over where it belonged in his home.
"He asked my advice," Hardman said, noting that Trump was particular about one thing he did not want the Queen's image sharing wall space with anyone else. As Hardman described it, if you walk into Trump's dining hall, there is one portrait, and it is Elizabeth II.
Roots That Run Deep
Those close to Trump say this devotion to the Royal Family is not a recent development or political gesture. It traces back to his childhood, and more specifically, to his Scottish mother.
David Charter, who wrote Royal Audience: 70 Years, 13 Presidents One Queen's Special Relationship with America, previously explained the connection. He said Trump's mother spent hours watching the Queen's coronation on television in 1953, completely transfixed by the ceremony. For a young Trump watching his mother's reaction, that image apparently left a mark that never faded.
"He remembers it well how absolutely fascinated and enthralled his mother was with royalty, and some of that rubbed off on him," Charter said, adding that Trump genuinely delights in royal company.
"An Incredible Lady"
Trump himself has never been shy about expressing his feelings. When he met Queen Elizabeth for the first time, he described her as an "incredible lady" and said in an interview that he felt as though he already knew her and that she certainly knew him.
He has also spoken openly about his deep respect for her during his state visits to the UK, calling her one of the most impressive figures he had ever encountered.
A Complicated Picture
That said, not everyone in royal circles viewed the relationship quite so warmly from the other side. Author Craig Brown has claimed that after their first face-to-face meeting in 2018, Queen Elizabeth privately told lunch guests that she found Trump "very rude." It is a reminder that admiration, however sincere, does not always travel both ways and that even the most devoted fans can leave a less-than-perfect first impression.
Still, the portrait story stands on its own. Whatever the Queen may have thought of him, Trump clearly holds her memory in a place of genuine honor quite literally, given that her portrait now commands a room all by itself.
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