Protocol and politeness

Melania Trump was observing protocol in Riyadh

Melania Trump’s windswept locks at Riyadh airport prompted a vision of Margaret Thatcher at the same venue but tightly encased in sombre black from head to foot when visiting King Fahd of Saudi Arabia. Britain’s £42-billion sale of Tornado fighters was attributed as much to her punctilious observance of Saudi sartorial protocol as to a rumoured multimillion-pound “slush fund” for Saudi royals.
 
Politeness and protocol must not be confused. Politeness is voluntary, protocol compulsory. When an earlier Saudi monarch, King Saud, visited India, British newspapers reported that Jawaharlal Nehru was seen taking quick puffs at his cigarette concealed in