President Trump appears to break royal protocol during State Banquet with the Queen

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By VT

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With the Trump baby blimp and planned protests occurring in London this week, Donald Trump was always going to be subject to scrutiny during his on-going state visit to the UK. And - surprise, surprise - it didn't take long for the US president to criticised for his behaviour.

Moments after touching down in London, he had already called London mayor Sadiq Khan a "stone cold loser", however, I don't think many people would have expected him to actually break royal protocol with the Queen.

During his lavish State Banquet with the Queen at Buckingham Palace, the 72-year-old president can be seen appearing to touch Her Majesty. The footage from the reception shows the businessman-turned-most powerful man in the world standing next to the monarch, following his royal address.

Then, in a very bold move, the Don forgoes the obvious thing of just standing there smiling politely, and decided decides to reach over with his left and - as far as one can see - stroke the Queen on the back.

Check out the moment below at 1:30 in the video below:

Sure, in everyday life this could be forgiven as a bit of physical awkwardness between two mutual friends, but if this is the case, Trump has actually broken an important part of royal protocol that forbids anyone from touching the Queen.

The only time a person may touch the Queen is if she first offers that person her hand - anything else is off limits.

However, considering the Queen is as cool as a cucumber, and the fact the US and UK have that 'special relationship', the monarch paid no attention to it; she simply smiled and when on with the reception unfazed.

During his speech, the President thanked Her Majesty for her warm welcome, and paid tribute to the soldiers who fought on D-Day.

Addressing the room, Trump said:

"Your Majesty, Melania and I are profoundly honoured to be your guests for this historic state visit.

"Thank you for your warm welcome, for this beautiful weather, your gracious hospitality, and Your Majesty's nearly seven decades of treasured friendship with the United States of America.

"This week, we commemorate a mighty endeavour of righteous nations and one of the greatest undertakings in all of history.

Seventy-five years ago, more than 150,000 allied troops were preparing on this island to parachute into France, storm the beaches of Normandy, and win back our civilisation.

"As Her Majesty remembers, the British people had hoped and prayed and fought for this day for nearly five years."

However, not everyone has welcomed the President with open arms - such as this teenager, who offered the President a very abrasive greeting by mowing a giant dong into a field near Gatwick airport: