Why it’s tin hats on for Queen’s Nato celebrations

NO OTHER head of state comes close to matching the Queen’s 67-year reign.

But her Majesty’s hard-won wisdom may be tested in six weeks’ time, when she hosts a Buckingham Palace reception to mark the 70th anniversary of the foundation of Nato.

For her guests — the leaders of all 29 member countries — include two men whose relationship is teetering on the point of disintegration: President Donald trump and his turkish counterpart, recep tayyip erdogan.

At this stage, the Palace declines to elaborate, beyond confirming that the reception will be held on December 3. ‘Further details will be announced in due course,’ a spokeswoman tells me.

Although the two presidents have had a somewhat strained relationship in the past, matters boiled over this month after trump wrote to erdogan urging him not to launch a military offensive against Kurdish forces in northern Syria, following the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the region.

Deploying his unique approach to international diplomacy, ‘the Donald’ wrote: ‘Let’s work out a good deal! You don’t want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands of people, and I don’t want to be responsible for destroying the turkish economy — and I will. history will look upon you favourably if you get this done the right and humane way. It will look upon you forever as the devil if good things don’t happen.’

regrettably, trump’s missive failed to find favour with erdogan, who reportedly ‘ received the letter, thoroughly rejected it and put it in the bin’.

More or less simultaneously, he launched an assault on northern Syria, prompting trump to send U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to turkey to broker a ceasefire.

Neither the U.S. or turkish embassies in London would comment on the forthcoming soiree at the palace where, this summer, the Queen hosted a state banquet for trump.

Doubtless hM has already identified the common ground between the two men: both are devout teetotallers. Milkshakes, if not handshakes, all round.