'Rubbish': Trump's 1990s lie about British royals joining Mar-a-Lago resurfaces
Trump reportedly lied about King Charles and the British royal family showing an interest in joining Mar-a-Lago in the 1990s and buying an apartment in Trump Tower, according to resurfaced newspaper clips.
"Trump planted stories in the 90s the royals were joining Mar-a-Lago," CNN senior reporter Andrew Kaczynski posted on X on Wednesday. "He previously planted false stories they were buying apartments in Trump Tower."
Buckingham Palace refuted the two claims by Trump.
"After the Palace refuted it, he had to walk it back, and major publications had to issue corrections," Kaczynski added.
In 1994, a Florida paper reported that then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana had paid for a membership to Trump's Palm Beach resort, Mar-a-Lago. A month later, the publication had to issue a correction clarifying that "they did not apply to join or pay an initiation fee.
Trump told the paper "that the Prince and Princess were offered honorary free memberships and that they had not responded to the offer."
Trump repeated the claim in 1995 to the Associated Press that the royal couple had "joined his Mar-a-Lago Club," the national outlet reported at the time. The AP was also forced to correct its reporting.
"Buckingham Palace says no, they haven't," the AP wrote at the time. "Donald Trump says yes, they have."
Trump even told the AP that "he handled the paperwork himself," and the couple paid $50,000 each for their memberships. The AP quoted a Buckingham Palace spokesperson saying, "It's complete nonsense. They have not joined the club."
The AP added in its correction that "Rumors circulated in October that Princess Diana was negotiating to buy a $3.5 million apartment in Trump Tower in New York. Palace officials dismissed that report as 'rubbish.'"
