Melania Trump has been slammed after online users spotted an “inappropriate detail” on the yellow dress she wore to dinner hosted by King Charles and Queen Camilla.

On Wednesday, September 17, the 55-year-old First Lady of the United States attended dinner at Windsor Castle with her husband, President Donald Trump.

Melania turned heads in a bold, bright yellow Carolina Herrera gown with a pink belt. She styled her hair in loose waves and paired the off-the-shoulder look with turquoise drop earrings.

While Princess Catherine wore a full-length hand-embroidered gold lace evening coat by Phillipa Lepley, and Queen Camilla appeared in a royal blue Fiona Clare gown with a sapphire tiara and diamond necklace, Melania’s bare-shouldered dress stood out.

Online backlash surfaced
Critics argued that Melania’s off-the-shoulder gown broke royal dress code traditions and labeled it “inappropriate”.

One user wrote: “Melania’s dress is inappropriate for a State Banquet.”

Another added: “I disliked Melania‘s grey dress this afternoon at the parade already, but this yellow dress is even worse. Inappropriate for a white tie event. Not sure what happened there, she is usually very on point.”

Royal fashion expert Lucy Hulme has previously explained that women meeting members of the Royal Family are expected to dress conservatively.

According to The Independent, she noted that rules at events like Royal Ascot require covered shoulders and skirts below the knee.

But not everyone agreed with the criticism, as some praised the FLOTUS for making a bold statement. “Wow, First Lady Melania Trump looks absolutely radiant in that stunning yellow dress,” one commenter argued.

“Melania is absolutely stunningly gorgeous. Poise, grace, and compassion,” a second gushed, while a third declared: “The dress and color in her is stunning and gorgeous. And I love the belt color as well. Love my First Lady.”

‘Fake Melania’ theory resurfaces
The outfit debate came during the Trumps’ second state visit to the UK, where they were greeted with a carriage procession, a Red Arrows flyover, and the banquet itself.

The dinner at Windsor Castle hosted 160 guests, including Sir Keir Starmer and leading American tech CEOs like Apple’s Tim Cook, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella.

The 79-year-old president called the visit “one of the highest honors of my life,” describing the UK-US relationship as “irreplaceable and unbreakable,” and praised Princess Catherine as “so radiant and so healthy, so beautiful,” per Sky News.

But outside the castle, chatter on social media turned to a familiar conspiracy theory: the claim that the First Lady is sometimes replaced by a body double.

“She’s smiling. Must be fake Melania,” one user joked, while another asked: “Is that the real Melania or the fake Melania?” Others speculated that her outfits or posture were concealing differences from the “real” Melania.

The theory first emerged in 2017 after images of her at a press conference appeared “different” to some. Despite repeated debunking, it resurfaces whenever she appears unusually animated or less reserved.

Donald Trump has blasted the claims, writing: “The Fake News photoshopped pictures of Melania, then propelled conspiracy theories that it’s actually not her by my side in Alabama and other places. They are only getting more deranged with time!”

Stephanie Grisham, her former communications chief, dismissed the rumours as “a ridiculous non-story” distracting from her work.