DID SHE SIGNAL DISAPPROVAL FOR DONALD?

WHEN Donald and Melania Trump made their first three-day visit to the UK in 2018, the internet was awash with talk of ‘brooch warfare’.

For as unlikely as it might seem given her years of careful diplomacy, some eagled-eyed observers speculated that the Queen’s choice of brooches during the trip was a snub to the 45th President of the United States.

Her first choice was a surprisingly modest vintage moss agate floral brooch, so discreet it was barely visible against her printed dress. Yet Twitter users pointed out that the American-made brooch had been a gift from Barack Obama — who is famously critical of his successor.

On the second day she wore the

Sapphire Jubilee Brooch, a gift from one of Britain’s staunchest allies, Canada — a country President Trump was not best pleased with at the time.

Presented to Her Majesty in 2017, the 48 sapphires contained in the brooch come from a deposit of gems on Canada’s Baffin Island. The sapphires fade in colour as they spread out, creating an ombre effect, set off by more than 400 diamonds and 18-carat Canadian white gold.

For Trump’s final meeting with the Queen, she wore what some dubbed the most ‘loaded’ brooch of all. Made by Cartier in 1938, it was worn by the Queen Mother to the funeral of King George VI.

But do we really think the monarch, schooled in diplomacy, would deliberately ‘throw shade’ at the President? Whatever message the brooches did or did not make, the Trumps took control of the narrative when they returned for a state visit the following year. Their gift to Her Majesty? A Tiffany & Co poppy flower which came in a White House leather box.