Internet sleuths have been intrigued by a clip which shows Prime Minister Theresa May and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn sharing a conspiratorial giggle during the king of Spain's visit to parliament.
With Westminster tense and divided after last month's surprise election setback for the government, many viewers were curious as to what could have brought the pair together:
There were plenty of guesses over what - or who - had been the subject of the joke:
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Some pointed out that Corbyn may have been laughing at, rather than with, May:
Others suspected the PM may have been sharing a naughty secret with her Labour counterpart:
Might this even be a budding case of "opposites attract", wondered a few hopeful romantics:
However, the pessimists were on hand to dispel any notion that the shared chuckle might be the start of a beautiful friendship:
And the scene was all too familiar for some…
-
The ‘menopause gold rush’Under the Radar Women vulnerable to misinformation and marketing of ‘unregulated’ products
-
Voting Rights Act: SCOTUS’s pivotal decisionFeature A Supreme Court ruling against the Voting Rights Act could allow Republicans to redraw districts and solidify control of the House
-
No Kings rally: What did it achieve?Feature The latest ‘No Kings’ march has become the largest protest in U.S. history
-
Taking the low road: why the SNP is still standing strongTalking Point Party is on track for a fifth consecutive victory in May’s Holyrood election, despite controversies and plummeting support
-
Your Party: a Pythonesque shamblesTalking Point Comical disagreements within Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana's group highlight their precarious position
-
Gavin Newsom's Trump-style trolling roils critics while thrilling fansTALKING POINTS The California governor has turned his X account into a cutting parody of Trump's digital cadence, angering Fox News conservatives
-
Who will win the battle for the soul of the Green Party?An ideological divide is taking root among the environmentalists
-
What difference will the 'historic' UK-Germany treaty make?Today's Big Question Europe's two biggest economies sign first treaty since WWII, underscoring 'triangle alliance' with France amid growing Russian threat and US distance
-
Corbynism returns: a new party on the LeftTalking Point Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana's breakaway progressive party has already got off to a shaky start
-
Is the G7 still relevant?Talking Point Donald Trump's early departure cast a shadow over this week's meeting of the world's major democracies
-
Angela Rayner: Labour's next leader?Today's Big Question A leaked memo has sparked speculation that the deputy PM is positioning herself as the left-of-centre alternative to Keir Starmer
