Queen Elizabeth’s Confidante Speaks About Monarch’s Controversial Hug With Ex-FLOTUS Michelle Obama

Elizabeth II’s confidante explained her controversial hug with Michelle Obama.

The former first lady of the United States shared that during her first meeting with the monarch in 2009, they hugged. Many deemed it a violation of the royal protocol. However, according to Angela Kelly, the Queen’s dresser and close confidante, the monarch returned Michelle’s hug as a gesture of “affection and respect for another great woman.”

“There are certain things that are understood to be accepted protocol when it comes to interacting with Her Majesty. Supposedly, you should never put your arm around the Queen, for example, but when human instincts kick in, sometimes this is absolutely the appropriate thing to do,” Kelly wrote in her book “The Other Side of the Coin : The Queen, The Dresser and the Wardrobe.”

“The Queen has the ability to make everyone feel so relaxed that sometimes it feels instinctive to be tactile with her, just as Michelle Obama demonstrated during the State Visit with her husband, President Obama, in 2009.”

Kelly has worked with the Queen for 25 years. According to her, “much has been made” when Michelle and Queen Elizabeth II met. She also shared the instant and mutual warmth between the two remarkable women and how the protocol was seemingly abandoned as they stood closely with their arms around each other’s backs.

“In reality, it was a natural instinct for the Queen to show affection and respect for another great woman, and really there is no protocol that must be adhered to,” Kelly added.

When Michelle and her husband Barack Obama visited the U.K., the Queen broke another rubbish royal protocol. According to Michelle, they were told ahead how they should position in the vehicle. She was told to sit in the front with Prince Philip while the monarch and former U.S. president would sit in the backseat.

However, when they met, Her Majesty gestured Michelle to join her in the backseat. The ex-FLOTUS admitted that she froze and was confused what to do. The Queen sensed her hesitations and told her to dismiss the rubbish rules, adding that she could sit wherever she wanted.