Princess Anne Was the Real Winner of the NATO Summit – Vanity Fair

Light royal attendance at this weeks NATO Summit might have been a preview of what Prince Charles imagines as a streamlined monarchy, but one royal proved why its nice to have the whole family around. Princess Anne has gotten a glow from her relatable portrayal on season three of The Crown, and while she hasnt always shown her sassy side to the public, her presence at a NATO reception Tuesday made the biggest royal splash. After the conclusion of the Queens reception for the leaders of NATO, videos began to circulate that showed Anne having a great time. In one, the Queen looks over to her daughter and appears to motion for her to greet Donald and Melania Trump. Anne responds with a shrug that would make a perfect reaction gif.

The interaction went viral as a snub of Trump, and even led Democratic congressman and Trump critic Ted Lieu to speak out in Trump's defense. Though plenty of other Trump critics welcomed her shrug (welcome to the resistance, Princess Anne!), that's probably not what she intended. On Wednesday morning, the Timess Valentine Low attempted to give more clarity to what actually happened. He tweeted that Trump was the last person in line to meet the Queen, and that an onlooker said Anne was simply trying to telegraph to her mother that the receiving line was overnot that she didn't want to meet the Trumps. Anne raised her hands in the air, laughed and said: It's just me, adding a moment later and this lot as she pointed to the members of the household behind her, he wrote.

It was a second viral video, though, that may have revealed her true feelings. Standing in a circle with Canadas Justin Trudeau, Frances __Emmanuel Macron, and __ Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Anne seemed to laugh as the leaders indulged in a little bit of gossip about Trumps lengthy performance at a press conference earlier in the day.

Ultimately, it seems like Anne was just doing exactly what anyone would do at an awkward cocktail party: avoid the people youre not fond of, congregate with the ones you like, and generally join in the merriment. In a 1988 Vanity Fair article, Georgina Howell called young Anne stroppy and churlish, though noted that she eventually became the exemplary royal workaholic and patron of the Save the Children Fund. But sometimes what reads as catty or glib might just be honest in a situation as odd as a NATO summit centered on Trump, NATOs biggest critic.

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Princess Anne Was the Real Winner of the NATO Summit - Vanity Fair

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