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Queen Elizabeth II passed away this Thursday, September 8, at 96. She was crowned in 1953, and, since then, she has lived amicably with each of the tenants of the White House. The monarch shook hands with 13 American presidents and one out of office, more than a third of the total. Here are the relationships with the free world’s leaders, from Harry Truman to Joe Biden.
Elizabeth II missed no opportunity to demonstrate her closeness to America, whether at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, the White House, or even at a Baltimore Orioles game.
First visit to the United States: Harry Truman
At 24, still a young princess, she visited the United States officially for the first time in 1951, where she was received by Harry Truman, who was about to leave office. As the story goes, the girl told the then-American head of state: “Free men everywhere look towards the United States with affection and with hope.”
Elizabeth II and John F. Kennedy had only one face-to-face meeting in 1961 (Photograph in the collection at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston).
Special relationship with Dwight Eisenhower and lunch with Herbert Hoover
In her debut as Queen, she hosted Dwight Eisenhower, with whom she would develop a close and lasting relationship. According to Business Insider, the two exchanged letters for years and even shared cooking recipes.
The two first met at the White House and then at Balmoral. During this first visit, the monarch took the opportunity to attend a college soccer game and even met and had lunch with former President Herbert Hoover.
Cordiality with John Kennedy and disagreement with Lyndon Johnson
Elizabeth II met only once with John Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline. The encounter occurred in 1961 when the president was touring France and the United Kingdom. Despite this single face-to-face meeting, the two maintained correspondence until 1963, when the president was assassinated.
Richard Nixon tried unsuccessfully to match his daughter Tricia with Prince Charles (Source: Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library and Museum/NARA).
The only sitting U.S. president who did not meet the Queen was Lyndon Johnson, who governed from 1963 to 1969. “Queen Elizabeth never sent an invitation to President Johnson to visit Great Britain. And President Johnson never sent an invitation to the Queen to visit the United States,” said archivists at the LBJ Presidential Library. However, some blame this historic misunderstanding on the monarch’s pregnancy.
Amusing anecdotes with Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford
Although Queen Elizabeth II had known Richard Nixon since his time as vice president, the two met as heads of state in 1969, when the Californian paid an informal visit to the United Kingdom. As a curious fact, Nixon himself mischievously had tried to join his daughter Tricia with Prince Charles. “That was quite amusing, I must say. That was the time when they were trying to marry me off to Tricia Nixon,” Charles himself confessed to CNN.
Elizabeth II visited Ronald Reagan in California and, as she stated, brought the British weather with her (Source: Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum).
Gerald Ford had the luxury of being pictured dancing with the queen during his visit to the United States in 1976, as part of the country’s 200th Anniversary. According to Betty Ford’s memoirs, the couple had fun with the royal couple.
Kate Andersen Brower, author of First Women: The Grace and Power of America’s Modern First Ladies, confessed to CNN that when the Fords took the Queen and Prince Philip to the residence, they encountered their son Jack before dinner, who was wearing jeans and a T-shirt.
The Queen took the situation with humor and said: “Don’t worry, Betty, I have one of those at home, too.”
George H.W. Bush received Elizabeth II for the first time as head of state in 1991 (Source: White House Historical Association).
Jimmy Carter and a “peck” to Elizabeth’s mother
Jimmy Carter can boast of starring in one of the best anecdotes with the British royal family. It turns out that during his visit to Buckingham Palace for a NATO event, the president stole a kiss on the lips from Elizabeth’s mother, known as the Queen Mother.
After a blond-haired, light-eyed leader with a southern accent kissed her, the Queen Mother reported, “Nobody has done that since my husband died.”
Ronald Reagan and Elizabeth, a true friendship based on horses
The beginning of this friendship was sparked by a shared passion: horseback riding. Reagan and the queen met in 1982, an experience that the president described as a “fairytale visit” and one of his most “fun” moments.
For Bill Clinton, Elizabeth II “might have become a successful politician or diplomat. As it was, she had to be both, without quite seeming to be either” (Source: Reuters).
A year later, the monarch landed in California as part of her 10-day tour of the West Coast. Her arrival coincided with a terrible series of storms, quite unusual for the area.
On March 3, President Reagan hosted a dinner in honor of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip at the M.H. de Young Museum in San Francisco. There, Elizabeth went to the microphone and made a joke that drew laughter from Reagan.
“I knew before we came that we had exported many of our traditions to the United States. But I had not realized before that the weather was one of them,” the queen joked.
George W. Bush made the UK spend millions on security during his visit to the Queen (Source: George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum/NARA).
Elizabeth II and Ronald Reagan enjoyed a warm friendship based on many horseback rides and talking about their families. In addition, the 40th president was one of only three American leaders to be made an honorary knight at Buckingham Palace, one of the highest distinctions in the United Kingdom.
George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton
George H.W. Bush succeeded Reagan in the Oval Office and shared his passion for sports with the Queen. He took Elizabeth II and Prince Philip to a Baltimore Orioles game against the Oakland Athletics in 1991, which was the Queen’s first appearance at a baseball game.
Obama called the Queen one of his “favorite people” (Source: Official White House Photo by Pete Souza).
Bill Clinton visited the UK several times during his 8-year presidency. He assured that “Her Majesty impressed me as someone who but for the circumstances 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.”
From security spending under George W. Bush to warmth under the Obamas
George W. Bush and Elizabeth II’s relationship was arguably the most painful for the British pocketbook. When the president visited the UK amid the Iraq war, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in protest. According to reports, the British spent millions of dollars on security during the president’s three-day visit.
Trump and Queen Elizabeth II went ahead of the Coronavirus and gave each other a fist bump in 2019 (source: Reuters).
In addition to Reagan and Eisenhower, the monarch established a great relationship with Barack Obama, who defined her as “one of my favorite people.” During her visit to the palace in 2009, Michelle Obama broke the protocol by partially hugging the Queen, which did not seem to bother her.
Donald Trump and a relaxed visit
Another leader who aroused protests in the British capital was Donald Trump, who visited Elizabeth in 2018 and 2019. During his second stay, the president spent more time with the monarch and praised her as “an incredible woman.” In turn, protocol seemed to relax with Trump, given that he stood in front of her, turned his back on her, arrived late to a meeting, and even shook her fists.
According to Biden, the queen reminded him of his mother
The last American president to shake hands with Elizabeth was Joe Biden, whom she had met as a senator decades earlier. “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,” Biden told reporters after meeting the Queen in 2021.
Joe Biden will be remembered as the last American president to meet with Elizabeth II (Source: Reuters).
Queen Elizabeth II met 14 American presidents over 70 years. She had the luxury of meeting a third of American history in her lifetime, and through ceremonial visits —jokes and horseback riding— she always ensured that the UK had a good relationship with the “land of the free and the home of the brave.”
Joaquín Núñez es licenciado en comunicación periodística por la Universidad Católica Argentina. Se especializa en el escenario internacional y en la política nacional norteamericana. Confeso hincha de Racing Club de Avellaneda. Contacto: [email protected] // Joaquín Núñez has a degree in journalistic communication from the Universidad Católica Argentina. He specializes in the international scene and national American politics. Confessed fan of Racing Club of Avellaneda. Contact: [email protected]