Brigitte Macron ‘rejects and ignores’ her husband in ‘frosty’ display, body language expert reveals
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Brigitte Macron repeatedly ‘rejected and ignored’ her husband in a ‘frosty’ display as they landed in the UK today, a body language expert has claimed.
French President Emmanuel Macron, 47, was ‘ignored’ by his wife Brigitte, 72, while he offered her a hand off a plane today as they arrived in Britain to greet the Prince and Princess of Wales ahead of their three-day state visit.
When President Macron held out his hand to Brigitte as she walked down the stairs, she appeared to disregard him, instead gripping the handrail, leaving Mr Macron to drop his hand.
Minutes later, the Macrons were seen in a car waiting to leave the base, and relations appeared icy, with Mrs Macron looking at her phone after getting it out of her bag.
Today’s awkward moment comes after a shocking clip emerged of the First Lady appearing to push her husband’s face away as their plane touched down in Vietnam in May.
The Macrons, who have been married since 2007, have denied any abuse in their relationship, with a close associate of the president describing the moment as a harmless ‘squabble’ between a married couple.
An official from the Élysée Palace also downplayed the footage, insisting the moment had been misinterpreted and the couple were ‘having a laugh’, brushing off any suggestion that tensions were running high between the French First Couple.
Now, body language expert Judi James has shared further insight into the couple’s latest exchange, writing, ‘Brigitte might be expected to be welded to her husband’s arm wearing a look of eternal devotion after that incident of the rough-looking shove with her hand, but instead here she appears to both reject and even ignore him.
Brigitte and Emmanuel Macron have showed their ‘frosty love language’ as they landed in the UK today, body language expert Judi James has claimed
‘As she crab-steps down the steep stairs of the plane Macron turns in a gesture of caring concern and proffers his right hand gallantly to ensure she maintains her balance.
‘But Brigitte manages to work her way down seven more steps, ignoring his hand en route and even when she gets to the ground she appears to turn straight to her hosts, ignoring him once again in the process.
‘It’s made very clear via some role-modelling that she’s not adhering to any UK cultural norms by refusing her husband’s hand.
‘William and Kate performed a pitch-perfect example of how to perform the ritual when William held his hand out as Kate descended some steps and she placed her hand in his.’
‘Cut by his wife, Macron was left to climb all over William instead. Their handshake involved a second hand placed over it in an act of emphatic affection by Macron, who did appear to be bending in for a cheek kiss, but then perhaps thinking better of it.
‘Instead, he held the handshake for two more seconds before grabbing William’s lower arm in a meaningful ritual of closeness, even intensifying that ritual by moving the hand to grab William’s arm just above the elbow.
‘Macron’s hand went back to the lower arm and he was still shaking hands as William used his free hand to motion him towards Kate.
‘Macron’s role as a gallant might have been scuppered by his wife but he appeared determined to not be thwarted by Kate too, bending to plant a kiss on the back of her hand before his wife arrived to take over the conversation.’
Brigitte did not accept her husband’s offer of a helping hand as she walked down the steps on Tuesday
James continued to read into the couple’s movements once they walked to their car, writing: ‘Mrs Macron’s body language signals suggested she was determined to ignore her husband’s offers of help, steering or even touch here.
‘She appears to hold the group up as they wait by the car, chatting to Kate and William as the door is held open for her.
‘Macron smiles politely at his wife and holds his hand out to both usher and maybe to hold her hand as she gets into the car but he is again ignored as Brigitte keeps her hands firmly planted on her little clutch bag that she holds in front of her torso.
‘Macron appears to give up and walk round to his own side while both an aide and William usher her into her seat.
‘Once in the car the exchange between them looks possibly chilly with Brigitte appearing to pull a phone out of her bag to check the screen while her husband primes himself to wave at the fans.’
It comes after Emmanuel Macron’s office admitted that his wife Brigitte hit him during a row in May, after footage showed the First Lady appearing to push his face away as their plane touched down in Vietnam.
A shocking video of the incident, shot by the Associated Press news agency in Hanoi, showed the French President’s plane door opening to reveal him.
His wife Brigitte’s arms then emerged from the left of the open doorway as she placed both hands on her husband’s face and gave it a shove.
After their welcome on Tuesday afternoon, Emmanuel and Brigitte left RAF Northolt together via car
The French couple appeared to remain frosty in the car today as Brigitte looked inside her handbag
Macron waved as his wife looked down on her phone following their arrival at Northolt earlier today
The president appeared startled but quickly recovered and turned to wave through the open door.
She remained concealed by the aircraft body, making it impossible to see her facial expression or body language.
The couple then proceeded down the staircase for the official welcome by Vietnamese officials, though Brigitte Macron did not take her husband’s offered arm.
Macron’s office initially denied the authenticity of the images, before they were confirmed as genuine.
A close associate of the president later described the incident as a couple’s harmless ‘squabble’.
An Elysee official played down the moment, denying it showed an argument between the couple, who have been married since 2007: ‘It was a moment when the president and his wife were relaxing one last time before the start of the trip by having a laugh.’
‘It was a moment of closeness,’ the official said.
Another member of his entourage played down the significance of the incident, saying: ‘It was a moment when the president and his wife were decompressing one last time before the start of the trip by joking around.’
Macron greeted Kate with a kiss on her hand after he landed at RAF Northolt in London ahead of his three-day visit
French President Emmanuel Macron smiled as he was welcomed by the Prince of Wales at RAF Northolt today
The French First Lady was warmly welcomed by the Princess of Wales at RAF Northolt in West London today
‘It’s a moment of togetherness. No more was needed to feed the mills of the conspiracy theorists,’ the source added, blaming pro-Russian accounts for negative comments about the incident.
The video clip circulated rapidly online, promoted particularly by accounts that are habitually hostile to the French leader.
Macron cautioned that this was not the first time in recent weeks that the content of videos of him had been twisted by people he described as ‘crackpots’.
Today, William and Kate greeted the French leader and first lady at about 11.30am and travelled with them to Windsor to meet the King and Queen Camilla.
The Princess was wearing a Christian Dior jacket, a hat by Jess Collett, Princess Diana’s old earrings and a pearl necklace from Queen Elizabeth II’s collection.
The Christian Dior jacket is the 30 Montaigne Rose Des Vents Bar Jacket from the 2024 collection. The piece was reimagined by Italian designer Maria Grazia Chiuri, who was inspired by the original, which was first created in 1947 by Dior himself.
The King’s Colour Squadron formed a carpet welcome party at the airfield for the Macrons, and they were initially welcomed by the King’s Ambassador to France.
After meeting William and Kate, a series of dignitaries were presented to the French couple including Sir Kenneth Olisa, the Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London.
King Charles and Emmanuel Macron travelled in a 1902 State Landau through Windsor on Tuesday afternoon
The Princess of Wales appeared in high spirits during the carriage procession to Windsor Castle this afternoon
Others included Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley and Northolt station commander Captain Jonathan Hough along with Kathryn Colvin, Special Representative of the Foreign Secretary.
Also in the welcome party were members of the British Suite including The Viscount Brookeborough, Lord-in-Waiting; and Dame Menna Rawlings, Ambassador at Paris.
After the Macrons travelled to Windsor with Kate and William, Charles and Camilla formally greeted their guests on a Royal Dais constructed on Datchet Road in the town – with Windsor Castle in the backdrop as gun salutes sounded in nearby Home Park.
The King was seen with a small burst blood vessel in his right eye which made it look red. It is understood this happened by accident overnight, and is not related to his cancer treatment.
The King, the Queen, the Waleses and Mr and Mrs Macron then took a carriage procession through Windsor and along part of the Long Walk which leads to the castle, just as former French president Nicolas Sarkozy did on his visit in 2008.
Later, the King will stress the vital partnership between France and the UK in the face of a ‘multitude of complex threats’ at the state banquet in honour of Mr Macron, declaring ‘as friends and as allies, we face them together’.
At a glittering banquet at Windsor Castle this evening, the monarch will deliver a speech, highlighting how ‘these challenges know no borders: no fortress can protect us against them this time’.
But he will tell Mr Macron that Britain and France can help lead the way in confronting threats relating to defence, technology and climate change, saying: ‘Our two nations share not only values, but also the tireless determination to act on them in the world.’
French President Emmanuel Macron, King Charles, Queen Camilla and Brigitte Macron on the Royal Dais on Datchet Road in Windsor today
Charles and Camilla are hosting Mr Macron and the first lady at the historic royal residence.
The King, in his toast, will reflect on 1,000 years of ‘shared history and culture between our two peoples’, including many of the royal family’s personal connections to France.
‘For centuries our citizens have admired each other, amused each other, and imitated each other’, he will say, and reveal how he remains ‘in awe of France’s extraordinary attributes and achievements’.
Charles will also hail the Anglo-French partnership as vital amid the many challenges of today, saying: ‘Our two countries face a multitude of complex threats, emanating from multiple directions. As friends and as allies, we face them together.’
It marks the first state visit to the UK by an EU head of state since Brexit, and will see Mr Macron address parliamentarians in the Palace of Westminster’s Royal Gallery and, on Thursday, join a UK-France Summit at Downing Street.
In Windsor today, the streets were decked out in French and Union flags in celebration of the state visit.
Giant Tricolores hang from the posts along the High Street where litter-pickers were out in the sunshine making sure the route was pristine – with roads along the route closing from 8.45am.
Security was heightened with an enhanced police presence and teams inspecting the area around the castle and checking locations such as flower planters.
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead said: ‘We are working closely with Thames Valley Police, the Crown Estate and other key partners, to minimise disruption to those that live and work in, or plan to visit Windsor’.
Mr Macron’s state visit to the UK, from today until Thursday, is the first to be hosted at Windsor Castle, rather than Buckingham Palace, in a more than a decade since that of the Irish president Michael D Higgins in 2014.
State visits, which capitalise on the royals’ soft power to strengthen diplomatic ties overseas, will be hosted at Windsor for the next few years while reservicing work continues at Buckingham Palace and starts to affect the state rooms.
The last state visit to the UK from France was in March 2008 when the now-disgraced Mr Sarkozy, since convicted of corruption and influence peddling, and his wife Carla Bruni, were the guests of Elizabeth II at Windsor.
The arrangements are likely to form the template for US President Donald Trump’s high-profile state visit in September, but much will depend on security considerations for the US leader, who survived an assassination attempt last year.
A ceremonial welcome will be staged in the castle’s quadrangle with Camilla, William, Kate and Mrs Macron watching as the King and Mr Macron inspect the Guard of Honour.
Lunch will be hosted in the State Dining Room, after which the president and his wife, the King and Queen and members of the royal family will view a special exhibition of items relating to France from the Royal Collection in the Green Drawing Room.
Mr and Mrs Macron will also travel to London this afternoon to see the Grave of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey and visit the Palace of Westminster where the French leader will address parliamentarians before meeting opposition leaders at Lancaster House.
The King and President will both deliver speeches at the banquet in the mediaeval St George’s Hall, where some 160 guests will be seated at the elaborately decorated 50 metre table, which will run the full length of the vast room.
