Why Donald Trump Has Queen Elizabeth's Final Portrait in His Mar-a-Lago Home
Why Donald Trump Has Queen Elizabeth's Final Portrait in His Mar-a-Lago Home
Laura Rizzo ChaganiFri, April 10, 2026 at 2:43 AM UTC
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President Donald Trump has an affinity for the British royal family and even reportedly has one of Queen Elizabeth II’s final portraits hanging in his Mar-a-Lago home.
Queen Elizabeth sat for a portrait by the Polish-British artist Basia Kaczmarowska-Hamilton just four months before her death in September 2022 at the age of 96, author Robert Hardman explains in his new biography, Elizabeth II: In Private. In Public. The Inside Story. The resulting painting ended up being the last official portrait of the monarch and was originally intended for London's Polish Institute. However, the Queen was thrilled with the painting and requested to keep it, according to Hardman. The original is still hanging in Windsor Castle, and a reproduction was sent to the Polish Institute.
An additional reproduction was also given to Trump, 79, by the artist because he wanted a “permanent reminder” of the monarch following her death, the biographer claims.
Copies of portrait in pastel of Her Majesty Queen Elisaberth II by Barbara Kaczmarowska-Hamilton. On the eve of Independence Day, Barbara Kaczmarowska-Hamilton, the portraitist of the Windsor and the author of the last portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, opened her latest exhibition 'London alive. Barbara Kaczmarowska-Hamilton Emigration Portraits' with twelve portraits of eminent representatives of the Polish independence emigration at the Institute of National Remembrance in Krakow. On Thursday, November 10, 2022, in Krakow, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Trump formally met Queen Elizabeth on two occasions during his presidency. In July 2018, Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, visited Windsor Castle for tea and a ceremonial welcome. The Trumps also partook in a formal state visit to Buckingham Palace in June 2019.
"She was so great. I wanted to hang her picture in a room where there is no one else on the wall," Trump reportedly told Hardman. The author reports that the painting now hangs above a medieval ship painting in the dining room of Trump's Florida residence.
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Trump was reportedly “awestruck” by the Queen, according to former White House Russia advisor Fiona Hill in her 2021 book, There Is Nothing For You Here: Finding Opportunity in the 21st Century. She said he saw a meeting with her Majesty as a sign that he "had made it in life."
After Elizabeth’s death, Trump said in a statement he and the First Lady would "always cherish our time together with the Queen, and never forget Her Majesty's generous friendship, great wisdom, and wonderful sense of humor."
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TOPSHOT - Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (2L), US President Donald Trump (L), US First Lady Melania Trump (C), Britain's Prince Charles, Prince of Wales (2R) and Britain's Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall pose for a photograph ahead of a State Banquet in the ballroom at Buckingham Palace in central London on June 3, 2019, on the first day of the US president and First Lady's three-day State Visit to the UK. Britain rolled out the red carpet for US President Donald Trump on June 3 as he arrived in Britain for a state visit already overshadowed by his outspoken remarks on Brexit. (Photo by Doug Mills / POOL / AFP) (Photo by DOUG MILLS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)DOUG MILLS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
"What a grand and beautiful lady she was—there was nobody like her!" Trump wrote at the time on social media. "Our thoughts and prayers will remain with the great people of the United Kingdom as you honor her most meaningful life and exceptional service to the people. May God bless the Queen, may she reign forever in our hearts, and may God hold her and Prince Philip in abiding care."
It’s not as obvious if the feeling was mutual. Queen Elizabeth’s friend Monty Roberts claimed the monarch “didn’t like” Trump in the 2024 documentary The Cowboy and the Queen. Author Craig Brown’s 2024 biography on the monarch, A Voyage Around the Queen, made similar claims.
"A few weeks after President Trump's visit, for instance, she confided in one lunch guest that she found him ‘very rude,’” wrote Brown. “She particularly disliked the way he couldn't stop looking over her shoulder, as though in search of others more interesting."
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Trump seemingly has the same adoration for Elizabeth’s son and the current reigning monarch, King Charles. Although the president has been butting heads with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, he has expressed excitement about Charles and Queen Camilla’s upcoming state visit at the end of April.
“I look forward to spending time with the King, whom I greatly respect,” Trump wrote on Truth Social after the palace’s announcement of the King’s trip, PBS reported. “It will be TERRIFIC!”
Despite calls to cancel the trip, both publicly and politically, Charles and Camilla are set to make their first US state visit since His Majesty ascended to the throne.
This story was originally published by Parade on Apr 10, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
