The queen and the 13 presidents

Current and former U.S. presidents are mourning the death of Queen Elizabeth II in statements that honored her life and reign.

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden wrote: “In a world of constant change, she was a steadying presence and a source of comfort and pride for generations of Britons, including many who have never known their country without her.”

Former president Barack Obama praised her “legacy of tireless, dignified public service.” Former president Jimmy Carter extolled her “dignity, graciousness and sense of duty.” And former president George W. Bush said “our world benefitted from her steady resolve.”

All were speaking from experience, as the queen made a habit of holding audiences with U.S. leaders.

From a meeting with President Harry S. Truman in 1951 when was she was 25 years old — and still a princess — to tea with President Biden and first lady Jill Biden at Windsor Castle in June 2021, the queen met every American leader — except Lyndon B. Johnson — over the last seven decades in venues ranging from Balmoral Castle to baseball stadiums.

President Biden

The monarch greeted the Bidens in Windsor Castle’s quadrangle. Soldiers gave a royal salute followed by the American national anthem.

After the meeting Biden, 78, told reporters that the 95-year-old monarch reminded him of his mother.

“I don’t think she’d be insulted, but she reminded me of my mother, the look of her and just the generosity,” he said.

Donald Trump

“Did Donald Trump just WALK IN FRONT OF THE QUEEN?” Yes, he did, and it was a moment that many Britons will never forget. The presidential eclipse happened as the pair walked through the grounds of Windsor Castle in July 2018 as part of Trump’s widely protested working visit to Britain.

Trump walked ahead of the monarch, who could be seen trailing behind.

Barack Obama

Barack Obama was accused of breaking royal protocol when, during a 2011 state visit, he bungled a toast to the queen by speaking over the British national anthem. First lady Michelle Obama also found herself under scrutiny on a separate occasion when she placed her arm around the queen’s shoulder. In her memoir, “Becoming,” Michelle said she later learned that touching the queen was “an epic faux pas.” But, she added, the queen didn’t seem too displeased. “I daresay that the queen was okay with it, too,” Michelle wrote, “because when I touched her, she only pulled closer, resting a gloved hand lightly on the small of my back.”

George W. Bush

During the queen’s trip to Washington in 2007, George W. Bush fumbled a line, accidentally aging the queen by 200 years. In his welcoming remarks in front of thousands of guests on the South Lawn, Bush referred to the queen’s previous visit to the United States to celebrate America’s bicentennial as being in 1776, when he actually meant 1976.

Bill Clinton

President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton met with the queen as part of a three-day visit to Ireland, Northern Ireland and England in December 2000. Their daughter, Chelsea, was also in attendance. The family visited Buckingham Palace, where they posed for photos next to the monarch, who was wearing a festive red ensemble and signature pearls for the occasion.

George H.W. Bush

41st President George H.W. Bush and first lady Barbara Bush met with the queen and husband Prince Philip for a tour of Buckingham Palace in June, 1989. The four were photographed smiling as they walked with the queen leading the way. Two years later, the monarch visited Washington, where she planted a tree at the White House. Paying tribute after Bush’s death in 2018, the queen described him as “a great friend and ally of the United Kingdom.”

Ronald Reagan

In 1982, Ronald and Nancy Reagan stayed overnight at Windsor Castle — the first presidential couple to do so. During their stay, Reagan and the queen, who both love horses, went riding together, while Nancy and Prince Philip went for a carriage ride. The following year, the Reagans hosted the queen and Philip at their hilltop ranch near Santa Barbara, Calif. After Reagan left office, the queen conferred on him an honorary knighthood, the highest honor Britain gives to foreigners.

Jimmy Carter

The queen hosted President Jimmy Carter and other NATO leaders during a dinner at Buckingham Palace in 1977. Much ado was made about the moment when Carter greeted the Queen Mother — and reportedly kissed her on the lips. The Queen Mum was said to have written about the incident: “I took a sharp step backwards. Not quite far enough.” Carter, however, recounted it differently. He wrote that he kissed her lightly on the cheek and that the British press “grossly distorted this event.”

Gerald Ford

38th President Gerald Ford and first lady Betty Ford hosted the queen at a state dinner at the White House in 1976, a gathering that celebrated the special relationship between the United States and Britain. The president danced with the queen, who wore long white gloves and put on a dazzling display of diamonds. Recalling the event in her memoir, the former first lady admitted she found royal protocol slightly challenging. “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,” she wrote.

Richard M. Nixon

In February 1969, Richard and Pat Nixon met the queen at Buckingham Palace along with Prince Philip and heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles. Before he became president, Nixon had met the queen in 1957 when he had escorted her and Philip during their U.S. visit. Nixon was vice president at the time.

John F. Kennedy

Just months into his presidency, John F. Kennedy and first lady Jackie Kennedy — “America’s royal family” — dined with Britain’s royal family at Buckingham Palace, a scene that was dramatized in Netflix’s “The Crown.” While it’s impossible to know what really happened in that encounter, according to biographers, there was indeed some real-life tension, with conflicts over whom to include on the guest list.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

The queen has made four state visits to the United States during her reign. The first one was in 1957 when Eisenhower was in office. Two years later, the queen would host the Eisenhowers at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where the president presumably complimented her drop scones or Scotch pancakes. In a handwritten letter to the president, she wrote: “Seeing a picture of you in today’s newspaper standing in front of a barbecue grilling quail, reminded me that I had never sent you the recipe of the drop scones which I promised you at Balmoral. I now hasten to do so,” she said.

Harry S. Truman

Before she became queen, a 25-year-old Princess Elizabeth met with Harry S. Truman and his wife Bess on a visit to Washington in October 1951 on behalf of her father King George VI, who was ill and unable to travel. The young princess was accompanied by husband Prince Philip, with the president referring to them fondly as a “wonderful young couple” who had “captured the hearts of all of us.”

More from the Post

The latest from The Washington Post

Credits

Production by Reem Akkad. Photo editing by Olivier Laurent. Video editing by Alexa Ard.