A Look Back at All of Queen Elizabeth’s Presidential Meetings

Today, at Windsor Castle, Queen Elizabeth met with President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump. Trump’s visit ignited major controversy throughout the United Kingdom—protesters (and a large, floating Trump baby) flooded the streets of London outside the castle walls.

The Queen and the president shook hands, and listened to the U.S. national anthem. Then, they headed inside the 900-year-old fortress for tea.

This may be the Queen’s most controversial meeting with an American politician, but it’s far from the only one. Over the last six decades, she’s met with 11 out of 12 presidents (only missing Lyndon Johnson).

In 1952, when Elizabeth was a mere 25-year-old Princess, she and Prince Philip visited Harry Truman in Washington, D.C. “On behalf of the government and the people of the United States, I bid you a most hearty welcome,” the president told the young couple at the Washington National Airport. Elizabeth responded with a speech of her own: “I know it is never possible to understand a country as great as this by visiting only its capital, even such a splendid one as Washington. But so much of the history of the United States has been enacted here, so many memorials of your national achievement stand here, that I hope before I leave to see a little deeper into the sources of your great strength,” she said. “Free men everywhere look towards the United States with affection and with hope. The message that has gone out from this great capital city has brought hope and courage to a troubled world.”

Five years later, she’d return to Washington again to meet with President Eisenhower, this time as a Queen. In 1959, she met with Eisenhower a second time at her summer castle of Balmoral. There, the president fell in love with her drop scones, so much so that the Queen sent him her recipe a few months later.

Thanks to The Crown, Queen Elizabeth’s meeting with President Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy is now part of pop-culture lore. The royal couple threw “a splendid dinner in their honor” at Buckingham Palace. However, rumors flew of tension between Elizabeth and the First Lady. Photographer Cecil Beaton allegedly said that Jackie told him she was unimpressed with the Palace and the Queen’s style. Gore Vidal remembers Jackie Kennedy saying Elizabeth was “pretty heavy going” and that she felt “resented” by her. Whether that’s all true or speculation, though, is still up for debate.

The next president to have an audience with Queen Elizabeth was Richard Nixon. He’d actually met her before—in 1957, when he was Eisenhower’s vice president. During his time in the White House, he met with the monarch twice.

Allegedly, during one of these visits, he tried to set up his daughter Tricia with Prince Charles.

Queen Elizabeth’s visit with Gerald Ford was almost a disaster. In her memoir, Betty Ford recalls how they planned to hold the state dinner outside under a tent in the Rose Garden. But half an hour before it was supposed to begin, there was a torrential downpour, complete with thunder and lightning. The Rose Garden was soaked. Thankfully, Ford had the foresight to make sure the tent had a hardwood floor, and therefore the evening (and everyone’s shoes) were saved.

“For the Queen's dinner, we had violinists stationed along the paths, and to be out in the gorgeous night air, with the moon shining down and the violins playing as you walked by, was unforgettable,” Ford recalled. “The Queen was easy to deal with. She was very definite about what she wanted and what she didn’t want. She loves Bob Hope and Telly Savalas, so we invited Bob Hope and Telly Savalas—both came—and 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.”

Jimmy Carter visited Queen Elizabeth for a NATO dinner at Buckingham Palace. There, he made a faux pas seen round the world when he accidentally kissed the Queen Mother on the lips. “I took a sharp step backwards. Not quite far enough,” the Queen Mum allegedly said afterwards.

Queen Elizabeth and Ronald Reagan met several times over his eight-year term in office. The two shared a clear bond over horses: The Queen took him on a ride through the Windsor Castle grounds, and Reagan later reciprocated with a trip to his ranch in Santa Barbara.

When the Queen visited President George H.W. Bush in Washington, the president took her Orioles game. She greeted the players in the dugout—including Hall of Famer Cal Ripken.

Hillary, Bill, and Chelsea Clinton visited Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip for the 50th anniversary of D-Day in 1994. They sailed to Normandy together from Portsmouth, dropping red poppies (the symbol of remembrance) in the channel as they went.

George W. Bush and Laura Bush spent the night at Buckingham Palace in 2003. Like Trump, the president was also met with large protests because of the Iraq War.

In 2007, he returned, only to make a humorous gaffe where he accidentally implied Queen Elizabeth was over 200 years old.

President Obama and Queen Elizabeth met quite a few times when he was in office. In 2014, Obama and the Queen were together for the 70th anniversary of D-Day, and in 2016, he and Michelle visited for lunch at Windsor Castle. In 2011, they went full glam at a State Dinner.

There was much ado about their first get-together in 2009. The Obamas famously presented the Queen with an iPod, which some British tabloids criticized as a lame gift. Then, Michelle Obama put her arm around the Queen, which others cried was a breach of etiquette (for the record: The Queen seemed fine with it, and even returned the gesture). Even after leaving office, the Obamas remained friendly with the royal family, especially Prince Harry.

An honorary mention? Herbert Hoover. The Queen sat next to the former president in 1957 at a luncheon at New York City. The president had left office two decades before.

As the Queen’s reign continues apace, perhaps one day there will be a meeting with a 13th president.