Charles & Camilla's Awkward Photo Op With The Macrons Has Everyone Saying The Same Thing

Amidst his multi-day state visit to the U.K., President Emmanuel Macron of France and his wife, Brigitte Macron, spent some time at Windsor Castle with King Charles III and Queen Camilla. When the Macrons headed to their next destination, they all posed together for a goodbye photo. However, the vibes were decidedly off. During a trip that was meant to show unity between England and France, the French president made several blunders, not least of which was Emmanuel's seemingly flirty gesture at Catherine, Princess of Wales. The sheer awkwardness of the trip was made manifest in the photo the royal family posted on Instagram — and it certainly had everyone noticing the same thing.

Although it could be an optical illusion based on the placement of his arm, Charles appears to be holding up Emmanuel, whose face seems pained. Brigitte stands all by her lonesome with the queen consort hovering off to the side. It makes for quite the eerie scene, which was duly noted by one commenter who wrote, "What a weird photo ..." Another commenter pointed out why things might seem so tense: "Nobody is standing by Madame Macron." Indeed, there's so much space around the French first lady that commenters waffled back and forth on if she was uncomfortable, or if others were uncomfortable around her. "Her husband is scared for his life and hanging on to King Charles like a scared child," the same commenter continued.

This not only falls in line with the many recent red flags in the marriage between Emmanuel and Brigitte, but also the relationship between the queen consort and the king. It seems that once again, King Charles and Queen Camilla have made people uncomfortable.

As global politics shift and the United Kingdom is still sorting out the chaos of Brexit, it seems that France is offering an olive branch. What was supposed to be a standard visit that included swapping art work and reminding each other of their countries' shared histories — per the BBC — turned out to have been more awkward than intended. While it could be easy to blame the hosts, especially with William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales unintentionally making the Macrons look bad, the social subtext of the awkward photo could really boil down to the theory that the marriage between Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Macron is crumbling.

Back in May of 2025, there was footage that showed Brigitte possibly pushing Emmanuel as they were about to deboard a plane. Then, upon arriving in the U.K. in July, Brigitte seemingly rejected an offer of assistance from Emmanuel as they once again disembarked a plane together. Similar to the times Melania Trump has repeatedly dodged Donald Trump's attempts at PDA, these actions by Brigitte give the feeling that something is off. This awkwardness most likely didn't help things during the Macrons' visit with the royal family, and it gives an off-kilter feeling for the future of their marriage.