Elisabeth Hasselbeck has opened up about her experience meeting the late Queen Elizabeth II and how she broke protocol by giving the royal a hug.
Following her week-long stint as a guest host on The View, the Survivor alum spoke during Saturday’s episode of The Weekend View about being invited to the White House by former president George W. Bush for a state dinner with the queen.
“I was so nervous. I wore my wedding cape,” she recalled.
She continued, explaining that she was not aware that touching a member of the British royal family was a breach of protocol and etiquette.
“I had no idea what to do when I got there. Like, I didn't know [you couldn’t touch her],” Hasselbeck said. “I went in for a hug. It didn't go well. It was very awkward.”
The incident got worse after the dinner portion of the event began when she sat down with her husband, Tim Hasselbeck, and had no idea how to use certain utensils.
“There were so many things before me, so many forks. I grew up simply, you know?” she explained. “I remember this, like, chalice of something, and I didn't … grow up with many courses. I’m literally [pretends to bring a bowl to her lips], mid-sip, and Jeb Bush leans over, Condoleezza Rice is [on] my other side, and he's like, ‘You might not want to drink that. That's for your hands.’”
Hasselbeck is not the only person to have accidentally touched a member of the royal family. Last year, singer Jessie J hugged Kate Middleton at the Royal Variety Performance.
The pair spoke after the singer, whose real name is Jessica Cornish, performed at Royal Albert Hall, where the Prince and Princess of Wales were also entertained by the West End cast of Paddington The Musical and Laufey.
During the interaction, the two shared a sweet hug over their respective experiences with cancer. The singer said in November 2025 that when she hugged Kate, they acknowledged that cancer was “not easy to go through” in the public eye.
In December 2025, during an episode of This Morning, Jessie J revealed that when she spoke to Kate, she was “briefed not to” hug her.
“I just saw a mom that has also gone through cancer publicly, and I just wanted to give her a hug,” the “Domino” singer, who was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in April 2025, explained. “It was as simple as that. I didn't see her as the Princess of Wales. I mean, obviously I did, and I was respectful.”
“And I said to her, ‘Can I give you a hug?’ And she received it,” she added. “I just said, ‘It's inspiring.’ I know the days that she has maybe gone through, and I just wanted to give her a hug, mom to mom, human to human.”
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