Former President Donald Trump lauded Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in a Thursday message following her death, praising her “faithfulness to her country” and “most meaningful life.”
“May God bless the Queen, may she reign forever in our hearts, and may God hold her and Prince Philip in abiding care,” Trump said in a joint statement with his wife, Melania. “Melania and I will always cherish our time together with the Queen, and never forget Her Majesty’s generous friendship, great wisdom, and wonderful sense of humor. What a grand and beautiful lady she was—there was nobody like her!”
The queen died on Thursday at age 96 after seven decades on the throne.
Trump’s statement extended condolences to the people of the United Kingdom, but notably lacked references to the commonwealth ― a priority for the queen ― or the monarch’s role in overseeing Britain’s withdrawal from its colonies. (President Joe Biden emphasized the deceased ruler’s international impact in his statement.)
“Queen Elizabeth’s historic and remarkable reign left a tremendous legacy of peace and prosperity for Great Britain,” Trump’s statement continued.
Britain is currently preparing for a major economic downturn that experts say is driven in large part by the country’s withdrawal from the European Union, a policy that Trump championed.
Trump met the queen twice during his presidency.
For their first encounter, in 2018, he arrived late ― then claimed the queen kept him waiting, despite photo and video evidence to the contrary.
In 2019, she hosted the then-president for a state visit. Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner reportedly attempted to crash their meeting in what would have been a major breach of protocol. Afterwards, Trump claimed the queen’s team told him that “she hasn’t had so much fun in 25 years.”
The queen, who as a rule remained mum on politics and current events, did not confirm this.