People think Prince William's unusual behaviour at state dinner was a deliberate 'f**k you' to protocol

Fans of Prince William believe the future King exhibited a 'no f**ks given' attitude earlier this week when he hosted Donald and Melania Trump for their second state visit to the UK.

For those in need of a reminder, the Prince and Princess of Wales welcomed the US President and First Lady to Windsor Castle on Wednesday (16 Sept), meeting them as they stepped off their Marine One helicopter.

After escorting the American couple to King Charles III and Queen Camilla, the six spent the day enjoying one another's company, attending military parades, musical performances and speeches.

And when the evening rolled around, joined by several other high-profile members of British aristocracy - including Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, the group relished a plush state banquet.

The mealtime festivities subsequently went viral for a number of reasons, however, including over a series of 'wildly inappropriate' comments Trump made about Kate, and a pointed dig reportedly made about Prince Harry.

Following the get-together, another hotly debated video recorded during a previous state dinner resurfaced on social media, showing Prince William seemingly having grown tired of the political formalities.

At the time, he and his father were hosting French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigette in the UK, during which he was accused of breaking royal protocol during their state banquet.

In the clip, as his father finished his welcome speech, and after the group were invited to take their seats, William immediately plonked himself down whilst looking around.

William 😭😭😭😭😂 pic.twitter.com/AKvqALqMnt

— Haya.🪞W|C (fan account) (@itsme_haya00) July 8, 2025

The move was seen as somewhat controversial for two reasons at the time, being that men usually wait until the ladies present sit down first, and the King was still speaking when he sat.

Taking to Reddit in the days later, one critic confessed: "I’d really love to know what William was thinking here… Everyone is standing clapping after Charles is done speaking it appears except…"

Another continued: "Wow. So everyone else is giving a standing ovation and he stayed seated without clapping?"

"Why is he seated when everyone else is standing?" a third questioned.

Well, the video has come to light online once again, with some users taking it upon themselves to commend the father-of-three for his rather blasé approach to hosting the Frenchman.

"This video will never not be funny," the X user gushed. "The person saying he broke protocol...He IS the protocol. And he never corrected his mistake. Who said it was a mistake?"

The same user went on to jibe: "He looked directly into the camera, f**k-you style. And I will always continue to be here for this!"

Another agreed completely, adding: "Well said: HE IS THE PROTOCOL."

"It's like, 'Just in case there was any doubt out there .... I'm the boss!'," a third noted.