Politico, on the Obamas' trip to Europe:

And it was clear at some point that Michelle Obama could do no wrong. Take her meeting with Queen Elizabeth II.

She not only touched the Queen. She rubbed her back gently at one point - a breach of traditional royal protocol - yet nobody seemed to care. The London tabs that feasted for days on Obama's gift of DVDs to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown gave her a pass, as did Buckingham Palace. The Queen's arm-in-arm exchange with Obama “was a mutual and spontaneous display of affection,” the Palace said. Case closed.

“Breach of traditional royal protocol,” eh? Buckingham Palace seems to disagree - in the very statement Politico quoted:

A Buckingham Palace spokesman who asked not to be identified because of palace policy said he could not remember the last time the queen had displayed such public affection with a first lady or dignitary.

“It was a mutual and spontaneous display of affection,” he said. “We don't issue instructions on not touching the queen.”

And while Politico says “nobody seemed to care,” that is, unfortunately, not true. The American media cared far too much. CNN, for example, treated video of the half-hug like Oliver Stone treated the Zapruder Film, playing it over and over in slow-motion: