Trump’s inner circle mixes with the British royals: Kellyanne Conway arrives with The Duke of Kent, Jared Kushner enters with Princess Anne and Sarah Sanders is escorted in by Prince Michael – whose wife insulted Meghan Markle
- Sixteen members of the British Royal Family attended the State Banquet Monday
- Sarah Sanders, Trump’s press secretary, was escorted into the state dinner at Buckingham Palace by Prince Michael of Kent, 76, the first cousin of the queen
- His wife Princess Michael of Kent made headlines last year after she wore a racist brooch to meet Meghan Markle for the first time
- Kellyanne Conway, who serves as counselor to the president, was escorted by the Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, the first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II
- Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump’s husband and the president’s senior adviser, was escorted by Princess Anne, Queen Elizabeth II’s daughter
The State Banquet was a who’s who of the American and British political elite as Donald Trump and his family rubbed shoulders with royalty.
Sixteen members of the royal family attended the dinner, including Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, Prince William, and Kate Middleton.
But there were also a number of royals in attendance who are less known to the American public – at least those who haven’t watched The Crown.
Here is a breakdown of some of the key British dignitaries at Monday night’s dinner, some of whom have had their own brush with scandal.
Prince Michael of Kent
Sarah Sanders, Trump’s press secretary, was escorted into the state dinner at Buckingham Palace by Prince Michael of Kent, 76, the first cousin of the queen
Sarah Sanders, Trump’s press secretary, was escorted into the state dinner at Buckingham Palace by Prince Michael of Kent, 76, the first cousin of the queen.
Prince Michael is the grandson of King George V and Queen Mary. He is currently 48th in the line of succession to the British throne.
Many in America may not be familiar with Prince Michael, but they likely have heard of his wife.
Princess Michael of Kent, who was born Marie Christine von Reibnitz, made headlines last year after she wore a racist brooch to meet Meghan Markle for the first time during the Queen’s Christmas lunch.
Many in America may not be familiar with Prince Michael, but they likely have heard of his wife Princess Michael of Kent, who made headlines last year after she wore a racist brooch to meet Meghan Markle for the first time during the Queen’s Christmas lunch
Pinned to her jacket was a Blackamoor brooch that depicted the head of a black man
Pinned to her jacket was a Blackamoor brooch that depicted the head of a black man. She later apologized, saying the jewelry was a gift that she had worn many times before without controversy.
Months later, it was revealed that the princess had once named two of her black sheep ‘Serena’ and ‘Venus’, after the African-American tennis champions.
And in 2004 the princess made headlines for all the wrong reasons when it was alleged that she told a group of black diners at New York’s swanky Da Silvano restaurant to ‘go back to the colonies’.
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent
Kellyanne Conway, who serves as counselor to the president, was escorted into the State Banquet by the Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent
Kellyanne Conway, who serves as counselor to the president, was escorted into the State Banquet by the Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent.
The Duke of Kent, 86, is a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. His father Prince George, Duke of Kent, was King Edward VIII’s younger brother and his mother Princess Marina of Greece was Prince Philip’s first cousin.
Prince Edward has held the title of the Duke of Kent since he was six years old, after his father was killed in a plane crash in 1942.
The Duke has represented Queen Elizabeth in engagements around the world and has also acted as Counselor of State during periods where she was abroad.
He is married to Katharine Worsley, the Duchess of Kent.
One of the couple’s sons, Nicholas, was removed from the line of succession after he converted to Catholicism in accordance with the Succession to the Crown Act 2013.
Princess Anne
Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump’s husband and the president’s senior adviser, escorted Princess Anne, Queen Elizabeth II’s daughter, into the State Banquet
Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump’s husband and the president’s senior adviser, was escorted by Princess Anne.
Princess Anne, 68, is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. When she was born, she was third in the line of succession to the British throne, behind only her mother and Prince Charles. She is now 14th in line.
The princess was the first member of the British Royal Family to compete in the Olympics thanks to her spot on Great Britain’s equestrian team.
Her first husband was Captain Mark Phillips. They were married at Westminster Abbey and the televised ceremony was watched by 100 million.
The couple divorced in 1992 and, months later, she married Sir Timothy Laurence, who had served as her mother’s equerry.
In 1974, a man tried to kidnap Princess Anne as she was returning to Buckingham Palace.
Her personal police officer, chauffeur, and a nearby tabloid journalist were all shot as they tried to intervene.
When the kidnapper told Princess Anne to get out of the car, she told him ‘Not bloody likely!’ A former boxer who was walking nearby then helped get her to safety.
Countess Peel
Stephen Miller, Trump’s senior adviser for policy, escorted Countess Peel into the dinner. She is the granddaughter of Winston Churchill
Stephen Miller, Trump’s senior adviser for policy, escorted Countess Peel into the dinner.
Countess Peel, 64, was born Charlotte Soames. She is the granddaughter of Winston Churchill.
She is married to The Earl Peel, who is the Lord Chamberlain – the most senior officer of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom.
The Lord Chamberlain is responsible for organizing all ceremonial activity, including state visits like Monday night’s dinner, as well as royal weddings and garden parties.
Philip May
Lindsay Reynolds, the First Lady’s Chief of Staff, was escorted into the dinner by Philip May, the husband of outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May
Lindsay Reynolds, the First Lady’s Chief of Staff, was escorted into the dinner by Philip May.
May, 61, is the husband of outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May and works as an investment banker.
The couple met while they were both students at Oxford University. They were introduced by Benazir Bhutto, the future Prime Minister of Pakistan, at a Conservative Party student disco and bonded over their love for cricket.
Theresa has revealed in past interviews that she and Philip could not have children due to health reasons.
‘You look at families all the time and you see there is something there that you don’t have,’ she said during one.
May has said in the past the he believed it was a privilege to be married to the prime minister.
‘If you’re the kind of man who expects his tea to be on the table at six o’clock every evening, you could be a disappointed man,’ he added.
Michael Gove
Stephanie Grisham, Melania’s press secretary, was escorted into the dinner by Michael Gove, the current Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Stephanie Grisham, Melania’s press secretary, was escorted into the dinner by Michael Gove, the current Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Gove is also running to succeed Theresa May as prime minister in the Conservative party leadership election. The Scottish native wore national dress to attend the State Banquet, sporting a kilt.
This wouldn’t be the first time Gove met Trump.
Gove, who used to write a weekly column for The Times, scored the first British post-election interview with Trump in 2017.
The interview included a photo of Gove and Trump giving each other a ‘thumbs up’ and was quickly mocked on Twitter.
That same year, Gove came under fire after he joked that going on the Today Programme, an early morning news program on BBC’s Radio 4, was akin to having a sexual encounter with Harvey Weinstein.
Viscountess Brookeborough
John Bolton, Trump’s national security adviser, escorted the Viscountess Brookeborough to the state dinner
John Bolton, Trump’s national security adviser, escorted the Viscountess Brookeborough to the state dinner.
Viscountess Brookeborough, born Janet Elizabeth Cole, is married to Alan Brooke, the 3rd Viscount Brookeborough.
Lord Brookeborough has been a Lord-in-waiting to the Queen since 1997.
He is delegrated to carry out important tasks for her, such as greeting President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama when they came on their first official state visit in 2011.
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