UK PM Liz Truss' awkward curtsy to King Charles III baffles Twitter, triggers meme fest

Liz Truss, the newly appointed Prime Minister of the UK, has caused a stir on social media after her "on the head" curtsy to King Charles III became a trending meme. Prime Minister Truss met with King Charles III to express her condolences following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. However, the meeting was notable not only for being the first meeting between the newly-crowned monarch and the incoming Prime Minister but also for Truss' peculiar curtsy at Buckingham Palace. A historic meeting of new figureheads perplexed Twitter, with Liz Truss' odd curtsy becoming an instant meme. 

Truss's curtsying was edited to look like she was hitting a football on the head, prompting a flurry of comments from Twitter users. She was photoshopped onto a football field background by mischievous meme creators to show her heading an incoming ball.

Twitterati compared Truss to Nicola Murray and Theresa May

One user said, "Why is the way that Liz Truss attempts to curtsy the exact same as Nicola Murray trying to practice her walk for the remembrance day service in The Thick of It."

"The PM is held up by wires attached to the kilted equerry's head," wrote another.

Truss was labelled a "Pop up PM" in another post on the micro-blogging site, with a spring sound effect added to the viral meme, showing Truss pop up at the click of a button.

To Twitter's amusement, the meme continued to spread after that, with video modifications and a less-than-flattering parallel to Theresa May's curtsying from a few years ago. A user wrote, "@TrussLiz's half-curtsy was awkward but not subservient or grovelling, unlike @theresa_may's vomit inducing effort I wish people would get things in perspective & stop wasting so much time mocking something so minor as to be insignificant Be better than that, please."

On September 10, top members of the British government, including Prime Minister Liz Truss, took the King Charles III loyalty oath in the House of Commons. On September 10, Charles III was crowned king of the United Kingdom. He will succeed Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away on Thursday. She was 96 years old when she became monarch, the longest reign of any British monarch.

Image: AP