REVEALED: What The Crown DIDN’T tell you about the Queen and the 13 US presidents she charmed – including Nixon’s very risqué remark about his own daughters and the young bachelor Prince Charles, by TOM LEONARD
- Her Majesty met 13 serving US presidents over her reign and never failed to impress each and every one
- The only one she failed to meet was Lyndon B. Johnson, but the pair kept in regular contact despite this
- Full coverage: Click here to see all our coverage of the Queen’s passing
Americans like to say that they threw out the British monarchy in 1776. But nobody had such an enduring relationship with US presidents as the Queen.
She met 13 serving US presidents – from Harry Truman through to Joe Biden – as well as a retired Herbert Hoover and apparently never failed to charm and impress them.
The longest-serving monarch in British history only missed out Lyndon Johnson. The reason remains unclear – although very possibly related to the UK’s decision to stay out of the Vietnam War – but the contention of drama series The Crown that he repeatedly snubbed her invitations seems unlikely.
For whatever the frictions between the US and UK, a presidential encounter with the Queen, a head of state with whom they didn’t need to be constrained by politics (after all, she wielded no political power), often helped clear the air.
And especially if it meant the Queen playing hostess as the pomp of the British monarchy, and Buckingham Palace, rarely failed to leave an impression.
When the Queen hosted President Kennedy and his First Lady at the palace in 1961 for a private banquet in his honor, it was the first presidential visit there for more than 40 years.
The first President that Her Majesty met was Harry Truman, the 33rd President of the United States. The pair were seen grinning during a state visit in Washington in 1951
They were photographed exchanging gifts in the rose garden and Truman reportedly told her at the time that he hoped ‘when you leave, you will like us even better than when you came’
The Queen met President Eisenhower at a state dinner at the White House and for or the occasion, Eisenhower wore a British Order of Merit that had been awarded to him by the queen’s father, King George VI
President Kennedy and his First Lady were welcomed at Buckingham Palace in 1961 for a private banquet in his honor, which was the first presidential visit there for more than 40 years
The Crown played up rumors that it was an unhappy night of seething resentment between the two women.
According to writer Gore Vidal, Jackie Kennedy told him that the Queen was ‘pretty heavy going’ and stopped her from inviting Princess Margaret and Princess Marina.
‘No Margaret, No Marina, no one except every Commonwealth minister of agriculture they could find,’ she reportedly huffed. (However, if this tale was true, she wasn’t too upset as she happily returned to the palace with her sister Lee the following year for tea).
JFK later wrote to tell the Queen ‘we shall always cherish the memory of that delightful meeting’. When he was assassinated, the Queen created a memorial to him and a scholarship fund in his honor.
The Queen had already met President Truman a decade earlier during a 1951 visit with Prince Philip to the White House while still a princess.
They were photographed exchanging gifts in the rose garden and Truman reportedly told her at the time that he hoped ‘when you leave, you will like us even better than when you came’.
Although the Queen corresponded with Lyndon B. Johnson on multiple occasions there is no documented evidence that they ever met. She did mee his wife during a trip to Texas in 1991 but the former president was not in attendance
In 1969 the Queen welcomed President Richard Nixon to Buckingham Palace for lunch, and the former Vice President had met her several times before. He reportedly even tried to matchmake his daughter, Tricia, with Prince Charles
President Gerald Ford hosted the Queen and Prince Philip for a state dinner at the White House in 1976 when she came to the US to celebrate the bicentenary of the US Declaration of Independence and they danced together
Six years later, she met President Eisenhower at a state dinner at the White House on her first state visit to the US. For the occasion, Eisenhower wore a British Order of Merit that had been awarded to him by the queen’s father, King George VI.
They get on well and he later visited the Royal Family at Balmoral in Scotland, the Queen later sending him a recipe for drop scones which he’d enjoyed during his stay.
After meeting Eisenhower, the Queen went to New York where she met former President Hoover – who’d been out of office for 24 years – at a lunch hosted by the city’s mayor at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.
In 1969, it was the Queen’s turn again to play hostess, welcoming President Richard Nixon to Buckingham Palace for lunch.
Nixon in fact met the Queen several times while he was Vice President and President, and reportedly even tried to matchmake his daughter, Tricia, with Prince Charles. ‘Both my daughters follow you closely,’ he told the startled prince.
President Jimmy Carter managed to put himself on the wrong side of royalty, after kissing the Queen Mother on the lips during a 1977 visit to Buckingham Palace. The Queen and Prince Philip met with the Carters and other NATO heads of state in the Blude Drawing Room at the palace
In 1989, President Reagen received an honorary knighthood and became the first president since World War II to receive the Order of the Bath
In a 1982 visit to Windsor Castle, the Queen and President Reagan immediately bonded over their shared love of being in the saddle. When the Queen paid a return visit to the US the following year, the Reagans invited her to visit their California ranch
President Gerald Ford hosted the Queen and Prince Philip for a state dinner at the White House in 1976 when she came to the US to celebrate the bicentenary of the US Declaration of Independence and they danced together.
‘If I hadn’t kept mixing up Your Highness and Your Majesty (he’s His Highness, she’s Her Majesty) I’d give myself four stars for the way that visit went off,’ First Lady Betty Ford later revealed of the evening in her memoirs.
That wasn’t the only faux-pas. When the Fords took their royal visitors to their private quarters before the dinner, they ran into their son Jack wearing just jeans and a T-shirt. ‘Don’t worry, Betty,’ the Queen reportedly reassured an embarrassed Mrs Ford. ‘I have one of those at home, too.’
However, even that social blunder was royally trumped by President Jimmy Carter when he kissed the Queen Mother on the lips during a 1977 visit to Buckingham Palace during an overseas visit for a NATO summit.
All was forgiven (if indeed any offense was taken) by the time Ronald Reagan entered the White House. In a 1982 visit to Windsor Castle, the Queen and the president immediately bonded over their shared love of being in the saddle.
The Queen made her third state visit to the US in May 1991 during George H.W. Bush’s administration, but had welcomed him to Buckingham Palace in 1989
Her Majesty joked ‘I hope you can see me’ while addressing Congress after she stood next to President Bush, who is 6’2, and attempted to speak at a podium that had been created for his height
President Clinton, First Lady and daughter Chelsea had tea with the Queen at Buckingham Palace on a state visit in 2000. Compared to other presidents, he spent little time with her but Mr Clinton was still struck by her skills especially when ordered the Union flag over Buckingham Palace to be lowered to half-mast and, breaking tradition, asked the Coldstream Guards band to play ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ during Changing The Guard to mark the atrocities of September 11
Pictures of them out riding together would become emblematic of the special relationship between their two countries.
The visit also saw Reagan become the first U.S. President to address both Houses of Parliament.
When the Queen paid a return visit to the US the following year, the Reagans invited her to visit their California ranch, but the weather was too bad for riding so they all adjourned to the Royal Yacht Britannia.
‘I spent that evening with the Queen, sitting on a sofa in the large living room, talking about our children like old friends,’ President Reagan later recalled.
In 1989, he received an honorary knighthood and became the first president since World War II to receive the Order of the Bath. The Queen accompanied the president, holding his precious boxed insignia, to his car and light-heartedly told him: ‘Don’t drop them.’
The Queen made her third state visit to the US in May 1991 during George H.W. Bush’s administration.
She became the first British monarch to address a joint session of Congress and the first to visit Texas, his home state.
‘No state commands such fierce pride and loyalty,’ she told a 5,000 strong crowd waving Union flags in Austin. ‘Lesser mortals are pitied for their misfortune in not being born Texans.’ Of course, they adored her.
President George W. Bush had a warm relationship with the Queen, hosting a rare white tie state dinner at the White House for her in 2007 while she was on her fourth US state visit
First Lady Michelle Obama accidentally violated royal protocol by supportively putting an arm around the Queen, but she said her Majesty moved closer. ’We were just two tired ladies with sore feet,’ Mrs Obama recalled affectionately
President Obama had a sepcial relationship with her Majesty, an was invited to stay in 2011. During a tour of her private gallery, she pointed out a note written by George III mourning the loss of the American colonies. ‘That was just a temporary blip in the relationship!’ laughed Mr Obama
She also attended her first ever baseball game when he took her to watch the Baltimore Orioles play the Oakland Athletics.
There was a memorable moment when president and monarch stood together at a podium to speak – Mr Bush was 6’2 but they had forgotten to install a riser for the somewhat shorter Queen so little more was visible on TV than her hat. ‘I hope you can see me,’ she joked when she later addressed Congress.
After the president’s death in 2018, the Queen released a statement paying tribute to ‘a great friend and ally of the United Kingdom’, sending Prince Charles to represent her at his funeral.
Bill Clinton went to the UK, along with Ireland, on a three-day visit in late 2000. The president, First Lady and daughter Chelsea had tea with the Queen at Buckingham Palace. Compared to other presidents, he spent little time with her but Mr Clinton was still struck by her skills.
‘Her Majesty impressed me as someone who but for the circumstance of her birth, might have become a successful politician or diplomat. As it was, she had to be both, without quite seeming to be either,’ the president wrote of her in his memoir.
That wasn’t the only thing that impressed him about her. Horrified by the September 11 terror attacks on the US in 2001, she ordered the Union flag over Buckingham Palace to be lowered to half-mast and, breaking tradition, asked the Coldstream Guards band to play ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ during Changing The Guard. Mr Clinton said: ’It took my breath away. It was wonderful.’
After his father’s rapport with Her Majesty, it was little surprise that relations with George W Bush would be warm.
President Trump’s Scottish-born mother had a devoted fan of the Royal Family and his family reportedly regarded his visit to Britain in the summer of 2018 as the social highlight of his presidency. He and the Queen are pictured smiling dyring the commemorations for the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day landings at Southsea Common in Portsmouth
He gushed that her Majesty was an ‘incredible woman’ despite committing a few faux-pas, including being late to arrive at Windsor Castle and walking in front of her as they went out to inspect troops
The Queen hosted President Biden – who’d first met her in 1982 when he was a senator – and First Lady Jill Biden at Windsor Castle in June last year. He was the final of the 13 US presidents that she met during her 70 year period as Head of State
He and First Lady Laura Bush hosted a rare white tie state dinner at the White House for the Queen in 2007 while she was on her fourth US state visit. She gently teased him after he accidentally said she’d come to America in 1776 rather than 1976 to celebrate the bicentennial.
The Obama administration’s relations with the Queen are perhaps most famous for her bond with the First Lady more than with the president.
Following reports that Barack Obama had removed Sir Winston Churchill’s bust from the White House as a sign of his view of a not-so-special relationship, it was the Obamas’ turn to be exposed to the Queen’s charm when they attended a banquet at Buckingham Palace in 2009.
Michelle Obama would later reveal how she accidentally violated royal protocol by supportively putting an arm around the Queen.
Far from recoiling, the Queen moved closer, she said. They’d been talking about footwear. ’We were just two tired ladies with sore feet,’ Mrs Obama recalled affectionately.
The Queen had the Obamas to stay in 2011. When the Queen took them on a tour of her private gallery, she pointed out a note written by George III mourning the loss of the American colonies. ‘That was just a temporary blip in the relationship!’ laughed Mr Obama.
President Trump’s Scottish-born mother had a devoted fan of the Royal Family and his family reportedly regarded his visit to Britain in the summer of 2018 as the social highlight of his presidency.
But he, too, was accused of committing a few faux-pas, including being late to arrive at Windsor Castle and walking in front of her as they went out to inspect troops.
Earlier, he’d gushed: ‘If you think of it, for so many years she has represented her country, she has really never made a mistake. You don’t see, like, anything embarrassing. She is just an incredible woman.’
The Queen hosted President Biden – who’d first met her in 1982 when he was a senator – and First Lady Jill Biden at Windsor Castle in June last year.
‘I don’t think she would be insulted, but she reminded me of my mother in terms of the look of her and just the generosity,’ he later told reporters.
Her Majesty was far too wise to be offended for long by anything a US president said. And if she was, Britain’s consummate diplomat certainly never showed it.
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