Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, has been caught in an awkward gaffe when greeting King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands.
As the Dutch royals arrived in the UK for a two-day state visit, Maxima was forced to reach down to steady Camilla as she curtsied, with Charles looking on in the distance.
It is not stated in royal etiquette rules if Camilla has to curtsey to the Dutch royals, which is why she then greeted King Willem-Alexander with a more casual kiss on the cheek.
The visiting royals will also be treated to a military display on the Thames as the Royal Marines and their Dutch counterparts stage a joint exercise.
Dutch warship HNLMS Zeeland will be anchored in the heart of London next to HMS Belfast for the display.
In a sign of the close naval co-operation between the nations, a Dutch warship will escort the Royal Navy’s aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth on its first operational deployment in 2021.
At a working lunch in Downing Street, the Prime Minister will thank the Dutch for their help in exposing cyber-attacks on institutions including the Hague-based chemical weapons watchdog by Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency.
Ahead of the visit, Prime Minister Theresa May said: “The Netherlands is one of our closest allies, as our recent work tackling cyber security threats demonstrates.
“As we leave the European Union, we will continue to stand side by side to defend against threats to the global rules based system.
“As I welcome King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima … I’m pleased to announce that the Dutch navy will be among the first nations to join the Carrier Strike Group as a sign of our ongoing co-operation.”
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