Donald Trump’s handshake with Prince William at Notre Dame opening sends message

Greeting Prince William in Paris on Saturday, Donald Trump couldn’t resist his famous “clasp and yank” handshake.

First the US President-elect moved in with an outstretched hand, then grasped the royal shoulder in what body language experts called a display of power and domination.

Still, William didn’t seem too concerned by Mr Trump’s display of machismo when they met at the ceremonial reopening of Notre-Dame cathedral following a $AUD1.4b restoration after the devastating fire of 2019.

The pair briefly shared a cordial exchange of words before the Prince was released from Mr Trump’s grip.

It was rather more formal when William greeted French president Emmanuel Macron’s 71-year-old wife Brigitte. Instead of planting a continental kiss on her cheek – as Mr Trump did – the future King limited their exchange to a fleeting handclasp.

He did the same with president Macron, whose own handshake with Mr Trump was, in contrast, far more vigorous, almost awkwardly so.

The prince and Mr Trump met later for private discussions at the UK ambassador’s residence, the imposing Hôtel de Charost.

The King has signalled that he is ready to use the Royal Family’s much vaunted soft power to help smooth relations between the UK and Mr Trump’s incoming US administration, so there was a lot riding on William’s mission.

All the more so as Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to move Britain closer to the EU, despite warnings this could alienate Mr Trump, whose promise to shake up the world order presents a serious challenge to the “special relationship” between the two countries.

Potentially there were plenty of other issues for William to smooth over – including doubts raised by Mr Trump’s team over Prince Harry’s US visa.

Then again, with relations between the brothers at an all-time low, he most likely thought it better to let sleeping dogs lie.

The prince was also due to speak to America’s outgoing first lady Jill Biden and her daughter Ashley, 43, for another discussion about the UK-US special relationship.

William and Mr Trump, 78, had originally been scheduled to meet before the cathedral event, but the prince’s journey to Paris had been delayed by Storm Darragh.

The Prince of Wales last met Mr Trump in 2019 when the then-president made a state visit to the UK. Laurent Ulbrich, the Archbishop of Paris, began the ceremony by tapping three times on Notre Dame’s giant doors of with a staff crafted from charred wood salvaged during the fire.

The ensuing ceremony included the reawakening of the cathedral’s thunderous 8,000-pipe organ and the celebration of the first Mass.

Applause erupted when Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky entered the building, from the gathered crowd.

It included 40 world leaders as well as several celebrities, including Mr Trump’s billionaire cheerleader Elon Musk and actress Salma Hayek, whose husband, Francois-Henri Pinault, the chief executive of Gucci and Yves St Laurent owner Kering, had pledged £82million towards the restoration.

The beginning of the ceremony was marked with the ringing of the cathedral’s largest bell, built in 1683 and named Emmanuel by its ‘godfather’ Louis XIV.

It weighs 13 tons and was the only bell in Notre-Dame to evade destruction during the French Revolution. Mr Macron thanked the global ‘brotherhood’ of craftsmen and donors for their help in what he described as the ‘leap of faith’ required to rebuild Notre-Dame in just five years.

The same message “merci” was projected on to the building’s facade.

Concluding his speech to a standing ovation, Mr Macron said: “Notre-Dame de Paris has been returned to you, you have made this possible. Long live Notre- Dame de Paris, long live the Republic, long live France.”