Queen Elizabeth greets Trump for first visit to UK as president

Queen Elizabeth II welcomed President Trump to Windsor Castle on Friday, as part of his first official visit with the British monarch.

The president, joined by wife Melania Trump, shared smiles and a handshake with the queen before standing alongside her as “The Star-Spangled Banner” was played.

Trump and the queen then stood for a pomp and circumstance-filled ceremony, reviewing troops and entering the royal residence to share a cup of tea together.

Ahead of his meeting with the queen, Trump had heaped praise on the monarch.

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“I really look forward to meeting her,” Trump told the right-leaning British tabloid, The Sun. In the same freewheeling interview with the outlet, he also sharply criticized British Prime Minister Theresa May over her strategy for exiting the European Union (EU). 

“I think she represents her country so well,” Trump said of Elizabeth.

“If you think of it, for so many years she has represented her country, she has really never made a mistake. You don’t see, like, anything embarrassing. She is just an incredible woman.”

Melania Trump is also a “tremendous fan” of the 92-year-old royal, Trump told the newspaper. 

As queen, Elizabeth has met 11 sitting American presidents, according to Kensington Palace. Most recently, she greeted former- resident Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, at Windsor Castle in 2016.

The queen made headlines earlier this year when she compared Trump to a noisy helicopter, quipping that the commander in chief goes “round and round when you want to talk.”

“Sounds like President Trump,” the royal remarked when an aircraft interrupted her on-camera interview for a British documentary. “Or President Obama,” she added.

According to the British royal family’s official website, the queen as head of state “has to remain strictly neutral with respect to political matters, unable to vote or stand for election.”