Do you ever wonder what the Queen of England thinks of current affairs? For us, mere peasants, presidential elections are a big deal. But does Queen Elizabeth care about this? Is she sitting on the edge of her seat during every election season? We’ll never know for sure because old Lizzie knows her manners and would never tell. However, we do find this power dynamic very interesting. Presidents come and go, some last a term or two, some less (*cough – Kennedy -cough*) but the Queen has been a pretty permanent fixture and has served as the reigning monarch since 1952. Can you guess how many US presidents she’s met in that time?
1. Harry Truman and the Queen met for the first time all the way back in 1951, and only half a year later the King died and Elizabeth became the Queen.
2. Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Queen were so friendly that she shared with him a recipe for grilled scones.
3. Queen Elizabeth met John F. Kennedy in 1961 and apparently she was actually jealous of how popular his wife was during their stay in the UK.
4. Richard Nixon met the Queen in 1969 and even tried to set up his daughter with Prince Charles. Didn’t work out though, did it?
5. Gerald Ford and the Queen met and shared a dance at an event in 1976.
6. Jimmy Carter truly shocked everyone when he kissed Queen Mother on the lips in 1977 during his visit. We have no idea how he thought that would be ok and not a huge disregard of the royal protocol. What a way to make a lasting impression.
7. Ronald Reagan was the first US president that got to stay the night at Windsor Castle. The Queen hosted him in 1982 and they bonded over their love of horses.
8. George H.W. Bush met the Queen for lunch in 1989 and later in his presidency he invited the Queen to a baseball game. Can you imagine?
9. Bill Clinton and the Queen met in 1994 over dinner. We can only wonder and speculate about what kind of jokes and stories Clinton told the Queen.
10.George W. Bush, much like his father met the Queen over lunch in 2001 at Buckingham Palace.
11. Barack and Michelle Obama met the Queen during their visit to the UK in 2009. Barack brought Queen Elizabeth an iPad with videos of her visiting the US as a gift. Michelle hugged the Queen which goes against royal protocol but apparently the Queen didn’t mind.
12. Trump in 2018 was such a disgrace we’re honestly surprised the Queen didn’t just kick him out of Windsor Castle. He shook her hand, walked in front of her, turned his back to her, and was late to the visit, all of which are against royal protocol. We’re all so embarrassed that we’re trying to wipe that from our collective memories and pretend it never happened.
13. Joe Biden got to meet the Queen as the president of the US in Cornwall at the Group of Seven summit. But they met previously when he was a US senator in 1982.
