Queen Elizabeth’s reign was marked by enchiladas with Reagan, and dancing with Ford

WASHINGTON, Sept 12 (Reuters) – Joe Biden, the last US president to see Queen Elizabeth, sat with her over tea at Windsor Castle in June 2021, as they chatted about Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.

“I don’t think she’d be offended, but she reminded me of my mother,” a seemingly happy Biden later told reporters.

Finally, the Queen met 13 of the 14 US presidents, all but Lyndon Johnson. She started with Harry Truman in 1951 when she was still a princess. Through all of them, her goal was to maintain strong ties with the United States, and to remember how important the alliance was in World War II. (Pictures: https://reut.rs/3DiVK92)

“Departments in your country, governments in my country, may come and go. But we talk, we listen, we differ from time to time, but united we must always remain,” she said in a toast to the state. Dinner hosted by President George W. Bush at the White House in 2007.

The Queen had long conversations with Ronald Reagan, some of them on horseback, and ate enchiladas on his California ranch. I went to a baseball game in the Baltimore Orioles with George HW Bush. I sent Dwight Eisenhower a recipe for scones after he fell in love with the ones at Balmoral Castle.

Things weren’t always going well. When no one lowered the microphone for her remarks in 1991 on the White House South Lawn during Bush Sr.’s presidency, her face was obscured by the microphone and her remarks became known as the “talking hat speech.”

“I hope you can see me today from where you are,” she later said in an address to a joint session of Congress.

Dancing with Gerald Ford in 1976, the band played “The Lady is a Tramp”.

During the same visit, Ford and his wife, Betty Ford, were going up the Queen’s elevator into the oval yellow room. The elevator door opened and Ford’s son, Jack, stood there.

Betty Ford later recalled to The Washington Post that Jack had unbuttoned his shirt and was holding his buttons. It quickly disappeared.

“Don’t think of anything,” said Betty Ford. I have one of those at home.”

Upon reviewing a guard of honor for troops at Buckingham Palace in 2018, the Queen suddenly found that Donald Trump had stepped in front of her, violating royal etiquette and prompting her to change course to get around him.

Distinctively, the Queen waved her white-gloved hand to indicate that she should go on, and she continued to move forward.

(Steve Holland reports). Editing by Heather Timmons and Lisa Schumaker

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