While Donald and Melania Trump tried to put on a show of marital unity by holding hands as they arrived at Windsor Castle Wednesday, their sleeping arrangements during their overnight stay at the royal residence could bolster ongoing rumors and reports that the first couple “are effectively separated.”

Palace insiders have told the Daily Mail’s Ephraim Hardcastle column that the couple would enjoy their own suites while staying at Windsor Castle. It’s not enough that each principal guest suite reportedly comes equipped with both a double and single bed, the Daily Beast also said. That’s still not enough space for them to share or Melania Trump wants her privacy, just as she has reportedly come to expect when she stays at the White House or at Mar-a-Lago.

The Ephraim Hardcastle column also reported that the Trumps had their own sheets shipped in from the United States. Maybe the Trumps are even more fussy than King Charles III is about their bed linens; the king demands the finest Egyptian cotton, the column said. Or, as a courtier joked, the president may not want to stain royal pillows with whatever tanning chemicals he uses “to keep his orange hue.”

WINDSOR, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 17: Catherine, Princess of Wales (L) and Prince William, Prince of Wales (2nd L) arrive at Windsor Castle with US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump on day two of the US President Donald Trump’s second state visit to the UK on September 17, 2025 in Windsor, England. (Photo by Ian Vogler – WPA Pool/Getty Images) 

The Daily Beast said there is plenty of space at Windsor Castle to accommodate the president and first lady’s desire for separate accommodations. The 11th-century residence has more than1,000 rooms, including state apartments, private chambers, chapels, and offices. If it’s any consolation to the Trumps, separate bedrooms at Windsor Castle have been common for British royals: The late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip are said to have enjoyed their own separate sleeping quarters, while Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla, even maintain separate homes.

But Donald and Melania Trump appeared eager to not emulate British royal couples in other ways. They held hands after they stepped off the Marine One helicopter that flew them to Windsor Castle and as they walked with William and Kate to the castle gardens. Notably, William and Kate followed royal custom and did not hold hands; they never do so in public. Melania seemed incline to follow this non-PDA policy during her husband’s first administration and was sometimes seen batting her husband’s hand away during important diplomatic events.

The Trumps probably know that his MAGA supporters like to believe that they enjoy a happy, united marriage, contrary to reports that say that they are mostly married in name only, even if they stay on friendly terms. Journalist Michael Wolff has said that the two are essentially “separated” and told the Daily Beast Podcast in May that they “live separate lives.”

“They clearly do not in any way inhabit a marriage as we define marriage,“ Wolff said. ”And I think maybe we can more specifically say they live separate lives. … The president of the United States and the first lady are separated.”

While the White House has repeatedly denied Wolff’s observations about Trump’s married and called him “a fraud,” the New York Times reported in May that Melania effectively “vanishes from view for weeks at a time” and doesn’t really live at the White House. During Trump’s first administration, she also was known to maintain her own bedroom. Otherwise, Melania Trump stays at the Trump Tower in New York City or decamps to the Trumps’ Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.