July 18, 2018

Queen Elizabeth Wore the Brooch the Obamas Gifted Her for Trump’s Visit

Coincidence? I think not.

Andrea Hanks/ZUMA

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Was Queen Elizabeth hoping to reveal her preference for a certain American president during President Donald Trump’s visit to the United Kingdom last week? If the jury were to rely on social media, the answer would be a resounding yes.

Thanks to expert observers of the royal family’s wardrobe and accessories, speculation currently abounds over whether the queen intentionally chose to wear a brooch that was given to her by the Obamas during their state visit back in 2011 in order to quietly knock her guest of honor during his recent visit to Great Britain. This was before his apparent difficulties in walking properly with the queen, which also sparked a media frenzy. 

On the second day of Trump’s visit, the same expert eyes noticed the queen wearing another brooch gifted to her by Canada, a country whose leader Trump has criticized and whose trade relationship with the United States he has repeatedly attacked. The potential significance of the brooches comes amid rumors Princes Charles and William went out of their way to avoid meeting the American president. 

While it’s highly unlikely the world will receive any official confirmation of the back-story behind the brooches, if true, the queen’s display would have certainly bested any effort by Melania Trump in her own sartorial choices to send sharp, political messages.

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is the first thing despots go after. An unwavering commitment to it is probably what draws you to Mother Jones' journalism. And as we're seeing in the US and the world around, authoritarians seek to poison the discourse and the way we relate to each other because they can't stand people coming together around a shared sense of the truth—it's a huge threat to them.

Which is also a pretty great way to describe Mother Jones' mission: People coming together around the truth to hold power accountable.

And right now, we need to raise about $400,000 from our online readers over the next two months to hit our annual goal and make good on that mission. Read more about the information war we find ourselves in and how people-powered, independent reporting can and must rise to the challenge—and please support our team's truth-telling journalism with a donation if you can right now.

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