(CNN) – First lady Michelle Obama did not breach protocol by touching Queen Elizabeth II at a reception for world leaders attending the G-20 summit, Buckingham Palace told CNN Thursday.
"It was a mutual and spontaneous display of affection and appreciation between the Queen and Michelle Obama," the Royal Press Office said in a statement Thursday. "The London Summit reception at Buckingham Palace was an informal occasion," the statement also said.
No breach of protocol occurred, according to the Royal Press Office, because Buckingham Palace does not issue instructions about how to address the Queen.
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It is much ado about nothing.Those objecting do not realize that we are in the 21st century now.
Geez Michelle, why would you dare do something so human?? It's like you're just being a nice person or something. Disgusting. Just disgusting! haha
I saw the Queen place her arms around Michelle, it would be wierd if Michelle did not do the same. Much ado about nothing for reporters!
1) The Queen touched Mrs. Obama first, which is an indication that she was in appreciation of our First Lady and lowering the formality of the occasion. As we are not subjects of the British, the protocol is somewhat different that it would be for a subject of the queen.
2) It won't matter a fig to the critics of the President and First Lady, even the ones who scream and yell about the privileges of the queen and her tax free income that makes her one of the wealthiest people in the world. If there is even a ghost of a chance to criticize, they'll take it.
so proud of the Obamas... Michelle was beautiful and Mr Cool was at it again... being sooooooooooooooooooooo cool...
there are some jealous people out there.... stop making up drama where there is none
Good Lord have the press nothing better to do that pick on something like this. The Queen is not a god, why cant she be touched? This is the height of pretentiousness. While I realise that the above article is a clarification on another story, in this day and age that is the height of ridiculousness. Mrs O did nothing wrong and this should never been a story in this age we live in.
Did you expect Michelle to kiss the Queen's ring or something? She's a queen, not a mafia don.
That's lovely. Regardless of "pomp and circumstance" the queen is a mere ........ mortal....... who responds to a kind gesture. Michelle is a 'real' person, and I am sure the queen was impressed with Michelle's authenticity.
I don't always like Michelle Obama, but she did nothing wrong.
The Queen was very warm to her and she followed suit, no protocal broken.
Michelle Obama is a polished, highly educated, well-travelled lady. I am certain she was well-advised as to observing and maintaining the apprpriate protocol when engaging with the Queen. Her "cuddle" (as the British press is referring to it) with the Queen was in response to an overt show of affection from Her Majesty. The Queen touched Michelle FIRST!! The Queen, by the way, is not known for public displays of affection, so I say kudos to Michelle for garnering such a rare royal treat! She must've made a very favorable impression indeed!
As a Canadian living in the US, that was wonderful to see. I've never seen the queen be so affectionate toward anyone. The Obama's have such an interesting, and totally effortless, effect on everyone they meet.
I think that's a wonderful thing 2 see the queen and the first lady having small talk!
First Lady Michelle Obama is not only beautiful but she's intelligent....educated at America's top schools!! And the Queen and Prince Philippe were so happy to meet them and the Queen not only laughed but she smiled throughout the conversation with our President and the First Lady!!! Buckingham Palace's welcome mat for Pres. and First Lady Obama were genuine NO matter how the pundits try to put a negative spin on the visit!
maybe the Queen likes the First Lady? and the Queen can do what she wants, 'cuz she's , ummmm , the Queen....,
Well that's good because The First Lady didn't seem to have a problem with it either. I think it is perfectly fine if the Queen wants to touch the First Lady. I never gave a thought to the Queen touching The First Lady as a breach of protocol (smile).
Protocol is a creation of human beings. Therefore certain human conduct should not break protocol, as long as the conduct was not inhuman or indecent.
I'm so relieved that our First Lady did not breach protocol! Whew! I was concerned this may affect the entire outcome of the G20 and forever besmirk the new, budding relationship between Great Britain and our new administration!! (I am obviously being facetious.)
Michelle Obama is genuinely a warm, caring person, and I believe Queen Elizabeth would also enjoy being more spontaneous if the ancient traditions allowed.
I'm proud of our President and First Lady, and it appears the world is impressed as well!!
Our First Lady did just fine.. Mike in Montana
If you watch the video, you see the Queen actually embraced Mrs. Obama first. It was appropriate for the First Lady to reciprocate. The First Lady made no breach of protocal.
Imagine that.....The first wife knows nothing about proper protocol or how to properly present herself (and therefore the country) when dealing with political issues overseas!
Sounds an awful lot like her husband!!!!
Non verbal communication goes a long way to express someone's sense of another. I thought it was wonderful.
Man...COMMON SENSE rules instead of what's politically correct! Refreshing:)
Well,it certainly wasn't like she put the Queen in a headlock and"noogied"her coif'.Get over such trivial matters.
Given the various global crises, it's hard to believe this "touching" incident has been so touted in the MSM, especially since, we're told, the Queen touched first.
There are so many promising advances that were made as part of the G-20 summit–the deal with Russia, for example, as well as the seeming upturn in the markets.
Message to the MSM: Give negativity a rest!
Has everyone not realized that "tongues will always wag" when the Obamas are mentioned in any way?? The old green eyed monster has to rear its' ugly head at every opportunity. I love it when her arms, which are to die for, are criticised by those with probably "flabby arms".
There should be more of this in the world!!
I suspect the Queen, on some deep level, appreciated the affection.
No big deal. this is one of the reasons we fought for our independence from England. The whole concept of kings and queens is silly. It surprises me that the world still even has kings, queens and dictators.
Someone out there wants to find fault in Michelle Obama, but she did nothing wrong, instead she looks so polished and quite beautiful.....
Wait a minute...while traveling abroad didn't Bush jr. try to open a door that wasn't actually a door and didn't his father ejection seat his lunch onto somebody?
I'm sure Clinton's blue dress conference call wasn't protocol either.
I don't think the First Lady caused an international incident.
The Queen is a gracious lady as is Mrs. Obama. Both women were showing kindness and respect and a mutual liking. I somehow think that if the Queen were offended, YOU WOULD KNOW IT.
spontaneous and warm moment between the Queen of England and our First Lady, and then the Queen said, Let's stay in touch!
Wonderful!!!!
From da hood to a hug from a queen, as the saying once said "you come a long way baby". Good job by our First LADY Michelle Obama.
What's the uproar about. We are not citizens of Great Britian and not bound by their rules. To show respect we should follow their rules, but the Queen herself broke the rules when she sorta hugged Michelle, and then Michelle sorta hugged her back. Get real people of Britian today is April 2009, not April 1409.
The only thing I detest about the Queen is her tendency to wear gloves when shaking visitors' hands. What does this really signify? That everybody else is dirty and she is clean!
It was a kind gestured by the Queen that was returned by Mrs. Obama. The Obamas are a great team and they are making the United States proud. Keep up the good work and maybe Americans can travel abroad again without being scorned. I love these guys!
So many people are so jealous of the First Couple and I LOVE IT! Accept it wingnuts we have charm, grace, intelligence and charisma in the White House for the first time in 8 years and the world is embracing it. Choke on that haters.
"Love makes the world go 'round..."
We ought to do more of this instead of wars, hatreds, and all the negatives. Let's knock down all the invisible barriers that separate us,
and reach out warmly to others in friendship! Wouldn't that be a nice change?
To Shoegazer:
Funny!! You are absolutely correct.
come on folks you can't be seirous.......a little affection brings you a long way
Hmmm. My hunch is the Queen is now accepting the fact that she is no longer the Queen of Fiji either. Iam thrilled. For hundreds of years former colonists were her majesty's servant. Now we are free. Even shoes throwers can freely express themselves. Free at last. Thank you God.
Of course the palace denied any improper behavior. However, I would never touch the Queen because I would be afraid that it may be seen, as it has, as a breach in diplomacy.
Katy
Actually, the Queen broke protocol first. That's okay, we're tolerant folks.
who cares of Mrs. Obama put her hand on her back its not like the queen of england does anything anyway except sit on her old butt
Reading the response in the British press it would appear that the Queen initiated to touching, and that the Brisish public and the Queen are quit taken with the Obamas. So it would appear that those individuals with no knowledge of proper protocol are the only ones that are having a problem with this meeting.
so get over it media.the brits love mchel and president obama.its realy refreshing to see other nations taken a liken to AMERICAN FIRST FAMILY
Awesome display of respect..... we can all learn from it
As a Canadian watching this clip, I was pleasantly surprised to see our Queen show warmth to First Lady Michelle Obama. I can't recall ever seeing the Queen do that. She must like Michelle!
This sort of royal idiotic pomp and circumstance is why I'm glad we had a revolution.
Who cares about hoity toity old-Europe protocol?
Only hoity toity European cultural elitists.
I know from foirst hand ewxperience what a warm and caring person First Lady Michelle Obama is.
She was in Rochester last October for a rally on behalf of her husband. I worked that event, got a front row seat.
After the rally, Mrs. Obama came by, shook our hands.As I held her hand, I mentioned to her how moved I was by her DNC Convention speech and how our late fathers were very much alike. She embraced me for the longest time. I gently ran my hand up and down her arm as she smiled at me.
Michelle Obama is indeed a lovely and caring woman. It was Queen Elizabeth who was honored to be in her presence, as i had been that day in October of 2008.
CNN must not have watched one of it's main man's show last night when a British Royalty expert explained that no protocol was breached by the mutual "touching" between Queen Elizabeth and Michelle Obama. Even if it had been a "slip-up" one has to wonder why such trite subject is relevant in the midst of the world's financial upheaval. I think we Americans have much to be proud of in the first European visit of our own first couplle.
Everyone, except for the American press corp, knows and understands there was no breach of protocol....but you all are dying so much to find something negative to run with in a endless loop for your daily ratings about the Obamas! Give it up. The Obamas are loved around the world....we should be so glad and grateful as Americans that we finally have an upstanding, well educated, polished, first family to represent us....compared to the always looking drunk, can't speak a good grammatically correct sentence president we had for the last 8 yrs. who accomplished nothing but sinking the country into depression and losing the respect of everyone around the world!
This is 2009, enough of the King and Queen nonsense!!
To Todd:
You are just jealous because you will never see the inside of a palace.Im glad she is representing us abroad.The both make me proud.
I don't get what the big deal is?
"Imagine that…..The first wife knows nothing about proper protocol or how to properly present herself (and therefore the country) when dealing with political issues overseas!
Sounds an awful lot like her husband!!!!"
------
Todd,
Did you read the article at all or did the Limbaugh side of your brain blcik it out? Michelle Obama DID NOT BREAK PROTOCOL. That is a direct statement from the Royal Press. Stop being so partisan! Good grief! Whether you like it or not, he is this country president and is representing all of us abroad. While in England, the president nor his wife have made ANY gaffes.
the queen puts her pants on one leg at a time too. who cares?
Todd, what would you have had her do? Sneak up behind her and giver her a shoulder rub?
The Obama Haters are soooooooo jealous of our wonderful leader! He goes to Europe and is loved by everyone. His ratings are sky high at home and his wife is stealing the show! Only 7 years and 9 months to go for the haters!!!! Rethugs fear this man! They should!!! He will be around for a while.
Much ado-bout nothing. Typical bored media looking for something juicy. Why are American's so gullible for gaffes and always wanting our officials to fall or fail? This country has a long way to go as far as becoming a united country.
I wonder...just for the sake of wonder. I hateful people on this board have not yet gotten a grip on protocol and perhaps they are blind. Did they not see the President Obama bowed to the Saudi King?
This is protocol and does NOT mean the President is bowing down to the King; just courtesy; Thought I’d let the beans spill while you folks are finding fault about any and everything that you know nothing about.
Finally, you folks need to travel and get out of your trailers more often. Travel in this sense means; visiting other nations and not just another State. Try your hand at Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, The West Indies and other places as well. “The West Indies” does not mean Indians by the way; it means all the little countries in the Caribbean. Oops! Do I have to explain where to find the Caribbean too?
the queen made the first move, Michelle just followed her lead, what's wrong with people, this is rediculous.
At least she didn't bow down to a king like her husband did, the US President bowing to a king. What a shame.
It's good to be the Queen.
LOL...it didn't seem to bother the Queen so why should it bother anyone else.
George W Bush winged at the Queen last time. He did it the old cowboys way. So what the queen is untouchable? give me a break.
Well, at least they didn't offer up a blockbuster video coupon as a gift.
I read somewhere that in 57 yrs ... the Queen has never touch someone like she touch Mrs. Obama. That it show how much the Queen liked her and the President .....
Mrs. Obama is doing me proud ... I said ME .. I am not speaking for everyone.
Todd, I take it you did not vote for the President? No, need to answer!
The Queen put her hand around our First Lady first as a sign of affection. The Palace said they have not seen the Queen do that in almost 30 years. This tells me that Michelle made quite an impression on the Queen. No breach of Protocol whatsoever.
Two "old souls" recognizing each other! How wonderful! Like Eleanor Roosevelt meeting Queen Elizabeth II years ago, perhaps this is similar in many respects. How could years of protocol by this Queen be cast aside so belatedly unless, two old souls had recognized each other! Reincarnation indeed!
I am glad Michelle touched her. if that was breach of protocol be it. The Royalty is not different than anyone else and perhaps this will being the Royalty be it British or else where to reality
"Much Ado About Nothing"
The Obama's just towers over everyone. They are so tall.
We should always so respect to one another, but at the same time we don't want to give any man or woman the kind reverence that is only due to God.
The Queen didn't care. Despite appearances to the contrary, she is not nearly as stuffy as you would think. She moves with the times, as much as a lady in her 80s can. Don't forget that she's got a lot of young grandkids who aren't even slightly traditional. It looked like a spontaneous gesture from Mrs. Obama to the Queen, who also reciprocated. The whole thing lasted under 10 seconds.
Why is this news?
no jackets in the oval office, no sleeves in the palace........YIKES!!!!
It is ashame how the conservatives are hating on the Obama's. And they are trying to restore respect and fix the economy in the U.S.A The conservatives are so hell bent on President Obama failing, that they can't see the good that he is already doing!! Conservatives get your head out of your butt and maybe you can see things better!! LOL
I think the conservatives are just made because the Bush's never got a grand welcome in different countries around the world!!