Photo of Melania Trump sitting alone on a couch surrounded by photographers goes viral

President and Melania Trump hosted <span class="s2">King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain. </span>(Photo: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)
President and Melania Trump hosted King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain. (Photo: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)

President and Melania Trump have welcomed King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain to the White House for an old-fashioned tea party during the royals’ three-city trip.

The royals, who are in the United States for six days to celebrate 300 years of friendship between the two countries, were greeted on Tuesday by the Trumps on the last leg of their trip. Ahead of formal meetings, the foursome posed for photos outside; Melania wore a brown-and-white knee-length belted dress, and Queen Letizia wore a hot-pink Michael Kors sleeveless dress with pumps. (Coincidentally, Melania has worn the same Michael Kors sheath in blue.)

Inside, ahead of tea in the Red Room with the queen, Melania was photographed in the Oval Office sitting on a couch, surrounded by photographers and reporters.

The picture, taken by Doug Mills from the New York Times, inspired immediate reaction.

It’s the Spanish couple’s second trip to the U.S. since 2015, when they met with former President Barack and Michelle Obama, with the then-FLOTUS also hosting the queen for tea and a tour of her vegetable garden. The women met again in 2016 when they spoke at Michelle’s “Let Girls Learn” conference in Madrid. The women are reportedly friendly and have been compared for their habit of recycling designer outfits.

President and Melania Trump are spending time with <span class="s2">King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia at the White House. </span>(Photo: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)
President and Melania Trump are spending time with King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia at the White House. (Photo: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)

On June 14, the king and queen first arrived in New Orleans, for the city’s tricentennial (the Spanish ruled there during the 18th century), where the couple accepted the key to the city with the queen wearing a hot-pink Carolina Herrera fit-and-flare dress and matching heels. To tour NOLA, Letizia did a quick costume change into head-to-toe BOSS — a multicolored short-sleeved sweater with a camel-hued skirt — and while enjoying local brass music at the city’s museum of art, Letizia stunned in a white Felipe Varela tweed dress.

Queen Letizia visits New Orleans. (Photos: Getty Images)
Queen Letizia visits New Orleans. (Photos: Getty Images)

The couple then traveled to San Antonio, where they accepted a key to the city, with the queen wearing a red-and-white Herrera sleeveless dress and sat for a luncheon with attendees of the Young Hispanic Leaders Summit, to which Letizia wore a black-and-white polka dot dress by Spanish designer Matilde Cano and black heels. To attend a gala dinner, she shined in a $4,490 Carolina Herrera floral lace gown.

Much like Melania, the queen has attracted controversy in her home country. The former journalist has been criticized for being a divorcee before marrying the king, reportedly undergoing plastic surgery, and not smiling in official photos. In April, Letizia found herself in the spotlight when she appeared to argue with her mother-in-law, Queen Sofía, while posing for photos during an Easter church service with her two daughters, Princess Leonor, 12, and Princess Sofía, 10.

Queen Letizia wore several designer dresses while in San Antonio. (Photos: Getty Images/<span>ZIPI/EPA-EFE/REX/</span><span>Shutterstock</span>)
Queen Letizia wore several designer dresses while in San Antonio. (Photos: Getty Images/ZIPI/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

The king and queen are also advocates of the LGBT community, hosting reps from their country’s State Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Transsexuals and Bisexuals and the Triangle Foundation in 2014, according to the U.K. site Pink News.

The friendly visit comes amid an immigration crisis sparked by the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy of separating immigrant children from their families at the southern border. The policy has attracted widespread outrage, with five former first ladies — Rosalynn Carter, Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, and even Melania Trump — expressing sympathy for the affected families. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Civil Liberties Union, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, have also slammed the president’s policy, with Cruz introducing legislature Monday to keep families together.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.

Advertisement