The Queen has seen 12 US Presidents come and go during her reign – but she’s never seen anything like Trump

It would be hard to imagine a world more different to the monarchy than the shiny gold-coated tat that sums up the Donald’s signature style

The Queen will meet Donald Trump on his ‘working visit’ (Getty)

Next month, the Queen will watch the Remembrance Ceremony from a balcony alongside her husband – a solemn task she’s only missed six times during her 65-year reign. On those occasions she was either pregnant or travelling – this time, it is an acknowledgement that – at 91 – she doesn’t relish the physical strain.

Nevertheless, this pensioner is still remarkably spry – attending a party at the Army and Navy Club this week with her daughter, she laughed and joked with women who (like her) had served in the Territorial Army during the Second World War. Since her husband announced his retirement this year, the Queen is handing over her more demanding commitments to younger members of the family – Prince Charles will take her place at the Cenotaph, and both Harry and William are undertaking more foreign tours.

Whatever you think of the monarchy, there’s no denying her appetite for work and unstinting dedication to her job. When I received my CBE from Her Majesty last year, she talked to hundreds of guests, standing for almost two hours. I present a live television show twice a week and that can sometimes seem exhausting – so how the Queen can offer each person her undivided attention for what is a very special moment in their lives is remarkable. No wonder that when the job is done, she goes upstairs, takes her shoes off, and eats lunch off a tray listening to the Archers.

Prince Harry says that he and his brother want to “modernise” the monarchy, but it’s the traditional aspects of the Crown – the ceremonies, marches and processions, the balcony waving, medals and state banquets – that give the monarchy its mystique. Not chats on Gardener’s Question Time, where an innocent remark about aircraft noise just highlights that a monarch doesn’t experience the stresses and strains of our frenetic world. The Queen’s appeal lies in her dependability, her resistance to unnecessary change, her frugality.

Photographs of her sitting room at Sandringham reveal an unchanging way of life – she’s clung to the same chairs and clunky old heaters for decades. Well-loved photos of family and friends cover every surface, and carefully arranged books (probably unread) line the shelves. The television and the comfy foot stools are not making any fashion statements – an interior that’s replicated all over middle England. It would be hard to imagine a world more different to the shiny gold-coated tat that sums up the Donald Trump signature style.

Trump’s orange complexion and his strange hair all seem perfectly normal in the brash glittering world of Mar-a-Lago or Trump Tower. Not for him a tweedy stool or a three-bar electric fire. Now, the Queen faces one of her greatest challenges, at the very moment she’d be perfectly entitled to take more time off and tune into the afternoon racing from Sandown Park.

She has been tricked (by our feeble Prime Minister) into meeting a man who sums everything she must find repellent – a testy, thin-skinned narcissist, king of the vulgar tweet, a chap whose close advisor described as “a moron”. A fellow who – like Harvey Weinstein – is well known for looking at women as if they are toys to grope and play with – even when they are married to a head of state.

In Paris, Brigitte Macron received the full Trump ogle of approval, her face frozen into a smile that said a thousand words. Trump worked the same “charm” on Ms May on her first visit to Washington, demanding a state visit so that he could meet the Queen. The Prime Minister – hoping to secure beneficial trade deals – offered him one. Cue outrage back home – and Speaker John Bercow jumped in to declare Trump would not be allowed to address MPs.

Trump is said to have asked for a carriage ride down the Mall, and a round of golf at Balmoral. Melania and Ivanka would have been planning extensive additions to their wardrobes, as well as lessons in how to curtsey in five-inch Louboutin heels.

Now, Trump’s visit is undergoing a rethink – he plans to visit Europe next spring to bolster support for his aggressive stance on Iran and North Korea, and could slot in a trip to London. But will it still be a state visit? The Queen would have to formally invite the President – and there was no mention of it in her speech at the opening of Parliament last month.

Trump, like many Americans, is not a great traveller – he’s slagged off Camp David, preferring to spend his weekends in his own resort in Florida, where he can entertain world leaders whilst showing off his prowess on the putting green, eat basic food and wear casual clothes. He has visited Italy and Germany, but hates stairs and likes to be ferried around in a buggy. He’s not great on aircraft steps either, frequently pushing Melania in and out of shot, waving like a Thunderbirds puppet.

In Paris, the Trumps posed for a staged photo-opportunity at a bizarre dinner half way up the Eiffel Tower. In London, there will be security risks and massive protests. Recently, Trump’s bellicose tweets about the “rocket man” running Korea and threats to shut down NBC News hint at a man whose grip on reality is gradually becoming more tenuous. As for a trade deal, Trump is threatening thousands of jobs in our aircraft industry, imposing tariffs that make our products ludicrously expensive, all to protect Boeing aviation. In order to save face, the UK trip is being billed as a “working visit”, and may only include a brief audience with the Queen.

She may want to invest in some very thick elbow length gloves, and impose a ban on selfies.