Jimmy Carter was one of 13 US presidents Queen Elizabeth met during her historic reign, which reportedly included an awkward moment involving another member of the royal family.
In May 1977, Queen Elizabeth welcomed Carter to Buckingham Palace for dinner with NATO leaders during his first trip abroad after being elected. As newly minted President Carter stood with the queen and other guests, he “noticed the arrival of the queen mother,” the Associated Press reported. Queen Elizabeth’s mother was also named Elizabeth and became popularly known as the Queen Mother after her daughter’s sudden accession to the throne in 1952 following the sudden death of King George VI.
“Ever the Southern gentleman, Carter broke away, took her hand and led her to the assembled line of guests,” the release said. “The unassuming Georgia peanut farmer-turned-president ate chicken mousse from a golden plate and seemed excited to be seated at dinner between the Queen and her sister, Princess Margaret, and across from her son, Prince Charles, Prince Philip and the Queen . Mother.”
According to The Washington Postthe Queen Mother was later quoted as saying that Carter kissed her on the lips.
Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, the Queen Mother, President Jimmy Carter and Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti in the Blue Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace on May 7, 1977.
PA images via Getty
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“I took a sharp step back – not quite enough,” the Queen Mother later wrote, according to her biographer William Shawcross, Sky News reported.
The former US president, however, denied kissing her on the lips and said it was “light on the cheek” as he bid her goodnight after a diplomatic dinner.
“More than two years later, reports appeared in British newspapers that grossly misrepresented the event, alleging that I had deeply embarrassed her by excessive familiarity,” Carter wrote in his 2016 autobiography. Full life: Reflections in the ninetiesaccording to The Washington Post. “I was upset by these reports, but I couldn’t change what happened – nor did I regret it.”
As stated on the royal family’s website, there are no mandatory codes of conduct when meeting a member of the royal family, but many people want to observe traditional forms, including bowing for men, bowing for women or shaking hands.
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National leaders and nobility in London, 1977. Left to right are Pierre Trudeau, Princess Margaret, Takeo Fukuda, James Callaghan, Valery Giscard d’Estaing, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, Queen Mother, Jimmy Carter, Giulio Andreotti, Helmut Schmidt.
Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty
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During her historic 70-year reign, Queen Elizabeth met more than a dozen US presidents, including every US commander-in-chief since Harry Truman (with the exception of Lyndon Johnson). The two met at John F. Kennedy’s funeral in November 1963, but she was unable to travel to America because she was pregnant with Prince Edward, born in March 1964.
President Joe Biden was the last American president with whom Queen Elizabeth finally met. In June 2021, the president and his wife, the first lady dr. Jill Biden, traveled to Windsor Castle after the Group of Seven (G-7) summit.
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The first lady dr. Jill Biden, Queen Elizabeth and President Joe Biden before tea at Windsor Castle in June 2021 STEVE PARSONS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
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They were welcomed on the podium in the quadrangle of the castle, and the honor guard formed by the Queen’s Company of the First Battalion Grenadier Guards royally greeted the First Couple. The Queen and Biden then had tea in the 1,000-year-old castle.
The couple later represented the United States at Queen Elizabeth’s state funeral in September 2022, and Jill returned to London to lead the American delegation at the coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla in May 2023. She attended the historic service with their grandson Finnegan Biden.
Carter died at the age of 100 on December 29 at his home in Plains, Georgia. On the same day, King Charles wrote about the former president, calling him “an inspiration to many” and “a dedicated public servant”.
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Source: HIS Education