Eight memorable moments from previous visits by British royalty to the United States

However, the role of the British monarchy, which is officially apolitical, has often been that of distract from clutter of everyday politics and, through ritual and ceremony, signal something more lasting.

Here are some pivotal moments in previous British royal visits to the United States.

In June 1939, King George VI became the first reigning British monarch to set foot in the United States.

The trip took place about 160 years after the Declaration of Independence and had a specific objective. With Hitler’s aggressive territorial ambitions becoming clear and war in Europe looming, Britain needed to strengthen ties with a United States increasingly powerful, but officially neutral.

To the king and his wife, Queen Elizabeth (later known as the Queen Mother), they were served hot dogsblueberry fudge, and strawberry pie at a picnic at President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s family retreat, Top Cottage, near Hyde Park, New York.

“It turned out that the King not only came back for more hot dogs, but also drank beer with them,” a New York Times reporter wrote at the time.

The king noted in his notes that he had raised the issue of the coming war with Roosevelt. “By mentioning the Neutrality Law, the president gave us hope that something could be done to make it less difficult for the US to help us,” Jorge wrote.

The trip represented a brief moment of optimism in an increasingly bleak political landscape. In three months, Hitler would invade Poland and start World War II. The United States did not enter the war until after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, although Roosevelt began providing some military aid to Britain in 1940.

A 25-year-old Princess Elizabeth she arrived in Washington with her husband, Prince Philip, in October 1951 after a trip to Canada. The princess made a very positive impression on the Trumans, including the president’s daughter, Margaret Truman, who was among those who greeted Elizabeth and Philip at the airport.

“I sincerely regret that you cannot go from one end of the country to the other, as you did in Canada,” President Harry S. Truman told Elizabeth in his welcome address, “and let everyone in the country have the opportunity to meet her, because Margaret tells me that every time someone meets her, he immediately falls in love with you“.

The following year, Jorge died at the age of 52. and Elizabeth became queen.

The Elizabeth’s first visit to the United States as monarch he was in 1957 and helped restore good relations after the disastrous Suez crisis, which had severely damaged Britain’s reputation on the world stage.

Hosted by President Dwight E. Eisenhower, the Queen and Philip They stayed in the White House in the same suites as Elizabeth’s parents in 1939. Welcoming them, the president stressed the enduring friendship between the US and the UK despite the disagreement over Suez, saying: “Those ties have grown in periods of tranquility and peace.”

Two years later, The Eisenhowers reciprocated with a visit to Balmoralthe royal residence in Scotland. In a striking example of the many forms royal diplomacy can take, Elizabeth even shared a recipe in a handwritten letter from 1960:

Seeing a photo of him in today’s newspaper standing in front of a barbecue roasting quail reminded me that I had never sent him the recipe for the ‘drop scones’ I promised him at Balmoral.

Now I’m rushing to do it, and I really hope it turns out well…”

In 1970, a new generation took on the task of polishing Anglo-American relations. Charles, then the 21-year-old Prince of Wales, and his sister, Princess Anne, visited Washington for what The New York Times called “an informal but strenuous two-day visit.”

Times reporter Christopher Lydon made it clear that the trip was more relaxed, and probably more fun, than the monarch’s state visits:

“The real hosts of the royal visitors are the president’s daughters, Tricia and Julie, and Julie’s husband, David Eisenhower, who together have planned a round of games, sightseeing and parties at which people over 30 will rarely, if ever, be seen.”

Two hundred years after the United States declared its independence from Great Britain and criticized King George III for his “repeated insults and usurpations,” Elizabeth II traveled to Washington to help celebrate that moment.

President Gerald R. Ford thanked him for his “very timely visit and gracious participation in this great reaffirmation of American pride.”

The first lady at the time, Betty Ford, later wrote in her memoirs:

“The Queen was easy to deal with. She was very clear 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.”

The queen turned to a classic British talking point to lighten her speech at a dinner with President Ronald Reagan in San Francisco in March 1983.

“I knew before I came that we had exported many of our traditions to the United States,” he said. “But I hadn’t realized before that the weather was one of them“.

Isabel had planned to sail to Santa Barbara, California, on the royal yacht, Britannia, as part of her 10-day visit to the United States. But a strong storm forced a change of plansand instead the queen and Prince Philip had to take a US Air Force plane to nearby Goleta, where they were met by the president and his wife, Nancy, and driven to the Reagan home in Santa Barbara.

The queen thanked the president his support for Great Britain in the Falklands Warwhich had taken place the previous year.

In a thank you note to Ronald Reagan, the queen wrote:

“I hope this visit has served to further strengthen the friendship between our countries and to remind the world that we are forever allies.”

Charles, then Prince of Wales, visited the United States again in 1985, this time with his first wife, Diana.

The three-day trip was of little diplomatic importance, but it did produce a dazzling cultural moment at the White House, captured by photographer Pete Souza: Diana, in a midnight blue velvet dress, dancing with John Travolta to the rhythm of the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack.

According to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, the ball was “a well-orchestrated moment organized by Mrs. Reagan herself.” Diana apparently told the first lady she wanted to dance with Travolta, and Nancy Reagan made it happen.

In 1991, Elizabeth II achieved another milestone by becoming the first British monarch to address Congress, at the request of President George HW Bush.

Karen de Witt, who covered the event for the Times, described the standing ovation for the queen when she entered the chamber. But he also noted that some legislators they boycotted the speech to protest the actions of the British State in Northern Ireland.

In her speech, the queen thanked the United States for its leadership in that year’s Persian Gulf War, while warning against reliance on military force:

“Some people believe that power comes from the barrel of a gun. That may be true, but history shows that it never grows well or for long. Force, in the end, is sterile. We have gone down a better path: our societies rest on mutual agreement, contract and consensus.”