Trump lays wreath at tomb of late Queen in poignant tribute as he hails visit as a 'great honour'
Donald Trump declared it a “great honour” to visit the royal chapel where the late Queen is buried, after paying his respects at her tomb.
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The US president and First Lady Melania spent around 10 minutes privately at the late monarch’s final resting place during the first day of their state visit to the UK.
They laid a wreath at her tomb before emerging into the nave of St George’s Chapel to listen to a performance by some young members of the choir and taking a tour of the centuries-old Gothic building.
The president had previously described Queen Elizabeth II in her lifetime as “a spectacular woman” and someone he had a good rapport with.
Following his three-day state visit in June 2019, he described the then-Queen as someone he had “automatic chemistry” with.
The US leader told Fox News: “The meeting with the Queen was incredible. I think I can say I’ve really got to know her because I’ve sat with her many times and we had automatic chemistry.
“You understand that feeling, it’s a good feeling. But she’s a spectacular woman.”
But author Craig Brown, in his biography A Voyage Around The Queen, claimed the monarch found Mr Trump “very rude”.
She is said to have “particularly disliked” the way he “couldn’t stop looking over her shoulder, as though in search of others more interesting”.
During their tour of the chapel on Wednesday, Mr and Mrs Trump were told it contains the tombs of 11 monarchs including the late Queen, Henry VIII and Charles I, prompting the president to remark “a lot of history”.
The chapel is a place of worship for the sovereign and the royal family, and is often at the heart of royal events.
It is where the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who now live in the US, married in 2018.
Mr Trump’s visit comes a week after Harry marked the third anniversary of his grandmother’s death by privately laying flowers at her grave in St George’s Chapel.
At the end of the tour, which lasted around 30 minutes, Mr Trump told chapter clerk Charlotte Manley, who effectively runs the chapel: “This was a great honour.”
Ms Manley said he had also told her the visit to the historic chapel was “very special”.
Construction of the chapel was started in 1475 by Edward IV and completed under Henry VIII in 1528.
It is the Chapel of the Order of the Garter, the premier order of chivalry in England.
Each year in June, royals who are Knights and Ladies of the Garter usually process in carriages from Windsor Castle’s state apartments down the hill to the chapel for the traditional Order of the Garter ceremony.
They dress in their Garter robes – heavy blue velvet capes and black velvet hats with elaborate white ostrich plumes.
On each side of the Quire are the beautifully carved stalls of the Knights and Ladies of the Garter, constructed between 1478 and 1495.
Mr and Mrs Trump were shown the plate on the back of Sir Winston Churchill’s former seat, denoting his membership of the order.
The president had earlier listened intently to a performance of Vivaldi’s Gloria, sung by 16 members of the chapel choir aged between seven and 13.
As they posed for a picture with Mr and Mrs Trump afterwards, the president gestured to the media and joked to the singers: “See those people over there, they’re gonna make you famous.”