EXCLUSIVE: Read the Two-Word Takedown Queen Elizabeth Used to Target Donald Trump — 'She Was Short and Not Very Sweet About Him'
Queen Elizabeth may not have been the biggest supporter of Donald Trump.
Feb. 11 2026, Published 6:30 p.m. ET
Queen Elizabeth II delivered a blunt two-word verdict on Donald Trump after hosting him in Britain – privately branding the president "very rude," according to a royal biography, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The account appears in A Voyage Around the Queen by author Craig Brown. Brown documents the late monarch's private reflections on world leaders she encountered during her 70-year reign.
'Very Rude' Trump
Queen Elizabeth II privately called Trump 'very rude' after hosting him, according to author Craig Brown.
Elizabeth, who died in 2022 aged 96, first met Trump, now 79, in 2018 when he visited the U.K. during his first term as the 45th president of the United States.
"A few weeks after President Trump's visit, for instance, she confided in one lunch guest that she found him 'very rude,'" Brown writes.
He also alleged the Queen "particularly disliked the way he couldn't stop looking over her shoulder, as though in search of others more interesting."
A royal source familiar with the period said, "She was short and not very sweet about him. The Queen rarely offered such direct assessments, but in this case she reduced it to two words – 'very rude' – and left no room for interpretation."
Trump's Version Revealed
The Queen reportedly disliked how he looked over her shoulder during their meeting.
Trump's 2018 "working visit" to Britain was marked by public protests across London, including the now-infamous "baby blimp" depicting him as a huge infant.
The visit was not a full state occasion, yet it attracted massive global attention. Reports at the time noted Trump arrived late for a ceremonial engagement at Windsor Castle, leaving 92-year-old monarch Elizabeth waiting for his arrival.
Television footage also showed him walking ahead of her during an inspection of the Guard of Honour before abruptly stopping, prompting her to step around him.
Following the meeting, Trump offered a very different interpretation of events.
He babbled: "There are those that say they have never seen the Queen have a better time, a more animated time."
After a subsequent 2019 state visit, he added about meeting the monarch: "We were laughing and having fun. And her people said she hasn't had so much fun in 25 years."
The Queen's Private Speculation About Melania Trump
Trump arrived late for a ceremonial engagement at Windsor Castle.
Brown's biography goes further, recounting Elizabeth's speculation about Trump's marriage to Melania Trump, 55.
According to Brown, she believed the president "must have some sort of arrangement" with his wife and wondered how she would otherwise have "remained married to him."
In the book, Brown places Trump among a list of contentious leaders the Queen encountered.
"Over the course of her reign, Her Majesty entertained many controversial foreign leaders, including Bashar al-Assad, Robert Mugabe, Idi Amin, Donald Trump, Emperor Hirohito, and Vladimir Putin," he writes.
He adds: "She may not have found their company convivial; upon their departure, she may even have voiced a discreet word of disapproval."
Palace Silence and Posthumous Praise
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The Queen is also said to have questioned Trump's marriage to Melania.
Buckingham Palace has not commented on the claims.
After Elizabeth's death, Trump paid tribute to her, saying: "Melania and I are deeply saddened to learn of the loss of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II."
He added: "What a grand and beautiful lady she was – there was nobody like her!"
Under King Charles III, 77, diplomatic ties with America have remained publicly cordial.
During a US state visit in September 2025, Charles praised Trump's efforts at "finding solutions to some of the world's most intractable conflicts," while Trump said the U.S.-U.K. "special relationship" was so close "special does not begin to do it justice."
