Tracing Queen Elizabeth’s steps through the U.S.

By Danielle Paquette | Sep 10, 2022

During her seven-decade reign, Queen Elizabeth II visited more than two dozen cities across the United States. She chatted with Girl Scouts, football players, presidents and Frank Sinatra . She cheered on race horses in Kentucky. She requested a ham sandwich with the crust removed in Texas. She sported a tweed skirt-suit in Yosemite National Park.

Wherever England’s longest-serving monarch went, photographers followed, capturing generations of Americans in the throes of Royal fever (and more than a few signature handbags ).

Oct. 17, 1957 | Washington

Queen Elizabeth II heads to the White House as crowd's line Washington streets to see the royal monarch.

Oct. 18, 1957 | Washington

Queen Elizabeth II accepts a doll for Princess Anne from 7-year-old Pamela Springmann during a visit at Children's Hospital.

Queen Elizabeth II and Vice President Richard Nixon tilt their heads for a better view of the oil paintings on the interior of the Capitol dome during a tour.

Oct. 19, 1957 | College Park, Md.

Co-captains of North Carolina and Maryland meet Queen Elizabeth II before the start of a game.

Oct. 21, 1957 | New York

Queen Elizabeth II, wearing a mink stole, and Prince Philip, standing next to a viewing telescope, view New York City from the observatory roof of the Empire State Building. The Queen said, "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

Queen Elizabeth II, in a plastic domed car, rides up lower Broadway through a shower of ticker tape and confetti during procession to City Hall.

Queen Elizabeth II addresses the United Nations General Assembly.

Her Majesty kicked off a seven-city tour of the nation’s east in 1976 with a stop in Philadelphia, where she unveiled a gift for the City of Brotherly Love: a Bicentennial Bell to celebrate 200 years of American independence from English rule. (The bell remains in storage .)

July 7, 1976 | Andrews Air Force Base, Md.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip walk down the ramp of their aircraft near Washington.

July 7, 1976 | Philadelphia

Queen Elizabeth II is greeted by the Girl Scouts of America.

July 8, 1976 | Washington

Queen Elizabeth II arrives at the U.S. Capitol.

On her New York leg, Elizabeth was spotted squeezing through city throngs, underscoring the lighter security protocols of yesteryear.

July 10, 1976 | New York

Thousands surround Queen Elizabeth II as she walks from the Federal Building up Wall Street to Trinity Church with Mayor Abraham Beame.

J Walter Green

July 10, 1976 | Charlottesville, Va.

Queen Elizabeth II tours Thomas Jefferson's Monticello home.

July 11, 1976 | Boston

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip wave to spectators below from the balcony of the Old State House before the Queen descended to street level to address the crowd. The location is the site of the Boston massacre, an event which led to the Revolutionary War.

Elizabeth returned in 1983 for a trek through the West Coast. She visited a Southern California retirement home, led a champagne toast with then-president Ronald Reagan and absorbed the mountain views at Yosemite National Park.

Feb. 26, 1983 | San Diego

Queen Elizabeth II reviews the U.S. Marine Corps honor guard as she arrives for a State visit.

Feb. 28, 1983 | Sierra Madre

Queen Elizabeth II shares a smile with 97-year-old Sibyl Jones-Bateman after the monarch was presented with a bouquet during tour of the British Home retirement community near Los Angeles.

March 3, 1983 | San Francisco

President Ronald Reagan and Queen Elizabeth II raise their glasses in a toast during a state dinner at the M. H. de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park.

Ed Reinke/AP

March 5, 1983 | Yosemite, Calif.

Park superintendent Bob Binnewies points out highlights from Inspiration Point to Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to Yosemite National Park.

The queen, a horse racing enthusiast, landed in Kentucky five times between 1984 and 2007, according to the Courier-Journal . She was known to turn up at horse farms, admiring the mares and foals.

May 23, 1986 | Versailles, Ky.

Queen Elizabeth II puts out her hand to her filly foal by the mare Christchurch and Alydar during a visit to Lane's End Farm.

May 27, 1986 | Lexington, Ky.

Queen Elizabeth II exchanges pleasantries with a line of Fayette County (Ky.) and Kentucky State Troopers on the tarmac as prepares to depart following a five-day visit.

Amy Sancetta/Associated Press

May 26, 1989 | Lexington, Ky.

Queen Elizabeth II is welcomed by a child upon her arrival during a private visit to the U.S.

David Banks

During her 1991 visit, Elizabeth addressed Congress. Lawmakers gave the monarch a standing ovation, while opponents of British occupation in Northern Ireland protested outside the Capitol.

May 14, 1991 | Washington

Queen Elizabeth II and President George H.W. Bush review the troops after the Queen's arrival at the White House.

May 15, 1991 | Washington

Queen Elizabeth II holds flowers presented to her at Drake Place, a housing project.

May 16, 1991 | Washington

Queen Elizabeth II is applauded by Vice President Dan Quayle and House Speaker Thomas Foley before her address to the U.S. Congress.

Doug Mills/AP

Elizabeth’s last U.S. state visit came in 2007, when she arrived for the 400th anniversary of England establishing its first permanent North American settlement in Jamestown, Va.

She dined with then-president George W. Bush, watched the Kentucky Derby through bulletproof glass and checked out Washington memorials.

May 4, 2007 | Lexington, Ky.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip look out of the window of an SUV as they leave the Bluegrass Airport after arriving.

Morry Gash/AP

May 5, 2007 | Louisville, Ky.

Queen Elizabeth II chats with Prince Philip as Susan Lucci (black hat) looks on at the 133rd Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.

Rob Carr/AP

May 7, 2007, | Washington

President Bush smiles at Queen Elizabeth II before the start of a State Dinner at the White House.

Evan Vucci/AP

May 8, 2007 | Washington

Queen Elizabeth II and U.S. Park Service Director Mary Bomar walk around the National World War II Memorial during a visit by the Queen and Duke.

TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images

May 8, 2007 | Greenbelt, Md.

Queen Elizabeth II accepts flowers from children while walking during a visit to the Goddard Space Flight Center.

Larry Downing

Elizabeth made her final stop on American soil in 2010 to address the United Nations General Assembly. “I believe I was last here in 1957,” she deadpanned to her New York audience.

July 6, 2010 | New York

Queen Elizabeth II leaves a wreath of flowers at the site of the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center attack during her visit.

Lucas Jackson

Queen Elizabeth II speaks at the United Nations Headquarters.

Seth Wenig/AP

More from the Post

Photos: The life of Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch

The queen’s travels, in photos

The latest from The Washington Post

Photo editing and production by Natalia Jiménez

This Is How Many Times Queen Elizabeth Has Visited America

Queen Elizabeth smiling

During her long reign, Queen Elizabeth has met leaders from all around the world, including 13 out of the last 14 U.S. presidents , with Lyndon Johnson being the only commander in chief to miss out on a meeting with the queen (per Town & Country ). "In almost every instance, the Queen has also inspired admiration and respect. These are the qualities that underpin her unofficial title as her government's 'secret weapon,'" noted author Matthew Dennison in a piece for  The Telegraph .

Presidents to have visited the queen in her home country include Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden, but Queen Elizabeth has been a guest across the pond six times throughout the years. Elizabeth was not yet queen during her first visit to the United States when she was 25 years old in 1951. She and her husband , Prince Phillip, made the trip because her father, Queen George VI, was too sick to meet with Harry Truman in Washington D.C. The young couple clearly made a favorable impression on the president and his wife, with Truman stating "never before have we had such a wonderful young couple, who have so completely captured the hearts of all of us" (per Time ).

Four years after she became queen, Elizabeth returned to the United States in 1957, this time to meet with Dwight D. Eisenhower during the Cold War . She wouldn't be back on American soil until 1976 when she traveled to see Gerald Ford for the Bicentennial Celebration.

Queen Elizabeth has managed to charm every American president

Queen Elizabeth's last three visits to the United States came in 1983 to visit President Ronald Reagan at his California ranch; in 1991, when she met with George H.W. Bush and planted a tree on the South Lawn of the White House; and finally in 2007, when the queen commemorated the 400th anniversary of the English settlement in Jamestown during George W. Bush's presidency (per the White House Historical Association ).

Whether in the U.K. or the U.S., each of her meetings with American leaders has one thing in common: Queen Elizabeth has impressed every president. Barack Obama has called her "truly one of my favorite people" (per Time ), while Joe Biden boasted during his June 2021 visit to Windsor Castle that the queen was "extremely gracious, which is not surprising" (via  Town & Country ). He added that "she reminded me of my mother, in terms of the look of her and just the generosity." 

And even Donald Trump had kind words to say about the royal, stating, "If you think of it, for so many years she has represented her country, she has really never made a mistake. You don't see, like, anything embarrassing. She is just an incredible woman" (via  Business Insider ).

How Many Times Has Queen Elizabeth Visited America?

Queen Elizabeth wearing bright pink

Queen Elizabeth II  is a world traveler, as she's made thousands of appearances since taking the throne in 1952, according to Reuters. Because of her status, she cannot just hop in a car and drive to her destination — there are certain royal protocols in place.

The queen is reportedly a fan of taking the train, regularly boarding at King's Cross in London and disembarking at Norfolk's King's Lynn station to kick off her Christmas break every year, per Town & Country. Elizabeth also has two helicopters in operation in case she wants to avoid traffic. If the queen is traveling by car, however, she prefers her Bentley State Limousine.

When it comes to traveling, the queen takes a few items to make her journey more pleasant. Elizabeth reportedly never travels without barley sugar candies to combat jet lag, per The Independent . She packs a black outfit in case of tragedy, and even brings along her own toilet paper, according to The Telegraph . Outfit choices are also important, so the queen reportedly packs around 30 options. She has also used the same suitcases since 1947 and writes "The Queen" on her luggage tags, per The Express .

Although the queen scaled back her traveling schedule due to coronavirus restrictions, have you ever wondered how many times she visited America? Keep reading for more details.

Queen Elizabeth II visited the United States six times

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip made six visits total to the United States, according to The Newport Daily News . A notable visit included the Bicentennial Celebration in July 1976 where they met president Gerald Ford and his wife Betty in Newport, Rhode Island. During their seven-day tour, the queen and Philip also stopped in Philadelphia and Boston.

She made numerous other visits to America, per the White House archives. Her first visit was in 1951 with the late Duke of Edinburgh before she became queen. The White House was due for some upgrades at the time, so she stayed with President Harry Truman and his family. Her next visit came in 1957, "to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the first permanent English settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607." In true royal fashion, she traveled by motorcade as hundreds lined the streets in poor weather to catch a glimpse of the queen.

Elizabeth also visited America in 1983, this time at President Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan's Rancho Del Cielo in Santa Barbara, California. The queen ditched her traditional tea for enchiladas and refried beans, and later enjoyed a state dinner in San Francisco. She crossed the pond yet again in 1991 and planted a tree on the South Lawn of the White House. In 2007, she returned for the 400th anniversary of the English settlement in Jamestown. She also visited the World War II Memorial with President Bush and his father George H.W. Bush. Perhaps she will hop the pond again when she can safely travel once more.

Photos of British Royal Family's Visits to the U.S. Over the Years

Princess Di and John Travolta's meeting at the White House was iconic.

Headshot of Janaya Wecker

The royal family has been visiting the United States for over 80 years now, touching lives in states across the nation along the way. While official tours—and even impromptu visits—come with a range of important duties, they typically also allow for public-facing moments of downtime and celebrity-studded fun. From King George VI and the future Queen Mother's very first hot dog to Prince Charles's date with Tricia Nixon, these photos show just how many memories have been made in the United States. With Prince William visiting in New York City this week for the Earthshot Prize Summit, there's no better time to look back at the best royal visits to the U.S. throughout history.

president roosevelt chauffeuring king and queen of england

King George VI and the future Queen Mother were the very first British royals to travel to the U.S. in 1939. Here, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the royals zip down the streets of New York on the way to the Commander-in-Chief's Top Cottage retreat.

royalty at rail of yacht

Here, King George VI and the future Queen Mother stand on the Capitol steps with senators from around the country.

harry truman and elizabeth in automobile

Then-Princess Elizabeth made her first trip to the U.S. in 1951, where she met with President Harry Truman. “Whenever anyone becomes acquainted with you,” he told her at the time, “they immediately fall in love.”

elizabeth ii

Queen Elizabeth returned six years later for her first state visit as monarch. She appeared to enjoy her first and only college football game in Maryland, where she famously asked , "Where do you get all those enormous players?"

royal visit to virginia

The Queen and Prince Philip tour one of the ships at Jamestown Festival Park's pier during a stop in Virginia.

royal tour of canada and the united states, 1959

On a state visit in 1959, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip ride an electric car through the International Chicago Trade Fair.

princess margaret and lord snowdon

Princess Margaret and her husband Antony Armstrong-Jones ride one of San Francisco's famous cable cars on their trip to sunny California in November 1965.

princess margaret checks out the views from coit tower with lord snowdon

Margaret takes in the view from atop the city's iconic Coit Tower.

princess margaret and lord snowdon talking with alfred hitchcock in hollywood in 1965

During a stop in Hollywood, the royals visit Alfred Hitchcock on set of his film Torn Curtain .

princess margaret and lord snowdon with horse

Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon take riding lessons at the Arizona ranch of former U.S. ambassador to Great Britain, Lewis Douglas.

royals in washington

The pair stop in Washington, D.C. toward the end of their trip to take in sights like the Lincoln Memorial.

tricia nixon and prince charles attend baseball game

During his first visit to the States as Prince of Wales, Prince Charles gets cozy with President Richard Nixon's daughter, Tricia, at a baseball game. “That was quite amusing, I must say,” he later told CNN of the trip. “That was the time when they were trying to marry me off to Tricia Nixon.”

british royalty visiting the white house under president nixon

Princess Anne joins her brother on the White House balcony, alongside President Richard Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon.

president ford dancing with queen elizabeth

Queen Elizabeth dances with President Gerald Ford at a White House State Dinner during her 1976 East Coast visit.

queen elizabeth ii state visit to usa  philadelphia

Queen Elizabeth drops by Philadelphia’s famous Liberty Bell.

"blow up" new york press conference

The monarch waves at onlookers as she passes the iconic Bloomingdale's flagship store in New York City.

prince charles

Prince Charles returned to America in 1977, where he toured the McDonnell Douglas plant in St. Louis. Here, founder James S. McDonnell shows off a F-15 Eagle jet fighter.

prince charles on the set of mash

The future king makes a stop in California, where he visits the set of M*A*S*H. The actors, including Alan Alda, share a laugh with the royal over an inflated surgical glove.

fawcett, majors,  the prince of wales

Prince Charles continues to mingle with Hollywood stars—like Farrah Fawcett and Lee Majors—at a banquet held in his honor at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-1jdielu:before{margin:0.625rem 0.625rem 0;width:3.5rem;-webkit-filter:invert(17%) sepia(72%) saturate(710%) hue-rotate(181deg) brightness(97%) contrast(97%);filter:invert(17%) sepia(72%) saturate(710%) hue-rotate(181deg) brightness(97%) contrast(97%);height:1.5rem;content:'';display:inline-block;-webkit-transform:scale(-1, 1);-moz-transform:scale(-1, 1);-ms-transform:scale(-1, 1);transform:scale(-1, 1);background-repeat:no-repeat;}.loaded .css-1jdielu:before{background-image:url(/_assets/design-tokens/townandcountrymag/static/images/diamond-header-design-element.80fb60e.svg);}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-1jdielu:before{margin:0 0.625rem 0.25rem;}} Royal Family News @media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-128xfoy:before{margin:0.625rem 0.625rem 0;width:3.5rem;-webkit-filter:invert(17%) sepia(72%) saturate(710%) hue-rotate(181deg) brightness(97%) contrast(97%);filter:invert(17%) sepia(72%) saturate(710%) hue-rotate(181deg) brightness(97%) contrast(97%);height:1.5rem;content:'';display:inline-block;background-repeat:no-repeat;}.loaded .css-128xfoy:before{background-image:url(/_assets/design-tokens/townandcountrymag/static/images/diamond-header-design-element.80fb60e.svg);}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-128xfoy:before{margin:0 0.625rem 0.25rem;}}

a man wearing glasses

Misan Harriman Responds to Photoshop Allegations

a person in a suit and a person in a white shirt

White House Comments on Kate Photoshop Debacle

the princess of wales opens hope street

BPPA Calls on Palace to Share Unedited Kate Photo

the princess of wales visits textiles manufacturers in leeds and lancaster

How a Mother's Day Photo Led to a Palace Disaster

the committal service for her majesty queen elizabeth ii

Prince William Attends Thomas Kingston's Funeral

princess estelle sweden best photos

The Sweetest Photos of Princess Estelle

king harald

King Harald's Doctor Gives a Health Update

kate middleton

Kate Was "Shaken" by Response to Edited Photo

the crown princess' name day 2024

Crown Princess Victoria Celebrated Her Name Day

crown princess victoria of sweden

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden's Style

kate middleton and prince william

What the Metadata on the Kate Photo Reveals

NBC Boston

When Queen Elizabeth Visited Boston: Redcoats, the Royal Wave and American Cheering

British soldiers dressed in the red coats that were infamous during the time of the american revolution stood once again by massachusetts' old state house when the queen visited in 1976, by asher klein • published september 8, 2022 • updated on september 8, 2022 at 4:14 pm.

In her long time on the throne of the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth II visited Boston once, for an event marking a very crucial event in American history.

For her third visit to the United States, Elizabeth attended the Bicentennial ceremonies in 1976, and ended her trip where the country began: in Boston.

Images from the time show her smiling as she walked through the streets with then-Mayor Kevin White. British soldiers dressed in the red coats that were infamous during the time of the American Revolution stood once again by Massachusetts' Old State House.

Mayor Kevin White escorts Queen Elizabeth II through Washington Mall in Boston on the way to City Hall ceremonies as Colonel Vincent J. R. Kehoe, left, and his 10th Regiment of Foot, Chelmsford, guard the way on July 11, 1976.

Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters.

Queen Elizabeth II meets Boston mayor Kevin White, July 11, 1976.

Tens of thousands of people came out to see Elizabeth and Prince Philip, The Boston Globe reported at the time.

"Everytime the queen smiled or let free one of her white gloved hands, barely bending the wrist fluttering regal waves, people responded in turn with beaming smiles, prolonged applause and an occasional American, but very un-British cheer," Robert Rosenthal and Nick King wrote.

But there were protests as well. As British soldiers marched in review past City Hall, demonstrators held up signs. Some read, "England: Get out of Ireland NOW!" and "No surrender to British imperialism."

Troops passing in review at Boston's Samuel Adams statue during Queen Elizabeth II's visit on July 11, 1976. Protesters outside Boston City Hall hold up signs in the background.

Elizabeth was being remembered Thursday around the U.S. and the globe after her death at the age of 96. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu shared an image of the monarch in City Hall, which was then just seven years old, and called her an inspiration for her "grace & steadfast leadership."

Boston mourns the loss of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, whose grace & steadfast leadership have inspired generations around the world. Our hearts are with her family, loved ones & the people of the UK. pic.twitter.com/d8YG7sRYTN — Mayor Michelle Wu 吳弭 (@MayorWu) September 8, 2022

Elizabeth would make six trips to the United States in her 70-year reign. During the visit for the bicentennial, when she was 50 years old, she also stopped in Philadelphia, New York City, Charlottesville, Newport and Providence.

American's Bicentennial Celebration was a national party marking 200 years since the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. At a state dinner at the White House, Elizabeth and President Gerald Ford shared a dance.

President Gerald Ford and Queen Elizabeth II dance during the state dinner in honor of the queen and Prince Philip at the White House on July 7, 1976.

After Boston, the queen traveled to Canada, where she opened the Montreal Olympics.

More on Queen Elizabeth II

Queen elizabeth ii, britain's longest-serving monarch, dies at age 96.

queen elizabeth visits to united states

Operation Unicorn: Here's What Happens Now That Queen Elizabeth Has Died

queen elizabeth visits to united states

‘Historic Reign': Local Officials React to the News of Queen Elizabeth II's Death

Get updates on what's happening in Boston to your inbox. Sign up for our News Headlines newsletter.

This article tagged under:

queen elizabeth visits to united states

NBC New York

Looking Back at Queen Elizabeth II's Visits to NYC Through the Years

Take a look at Queen Elizabeth's visits to the tri-state area over the years.

Published September 9, 2022 • Updated on September 9, 2022 at 12:38 pm

Queen Elizabeth II passed away Thursday at the age of 96, prompting a wave of worldwide mourning and tributes for the monarch who reigned for seven decades.

During the years as head of the British Royal Family, Queen Elizabeth traveled the world many times over, including visiting the tristate area -- particularly New York City -- on numerous occasions.

QUEEN ELIZABETH II'S FIRST VISIT TO NYC (1957)

Get Tri-state area news and weather forecasts to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York newsletters.

Queen Elizabeth II visited New York City in 1957 -- five years after her accession to the throne when she was just 25 years old. The queen was met with a motorcade and a ticker-tape parade as she traveled down Fifth Avenue. It was during this Royal Tour that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited the top of the Empire State Building. ( The building lit up in purple and silver in honor of the queen Thursday evening. )

queen elizabeth visits to united states

QUEEN ELIZABETH II VISITS TRI-STATE AREA TO CELEBRATE BICENTENNIAL OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION (1976)

queen elizabeth visits to united states

Human remains mystery developing in New Jersey

queen elizabeth visits to united states

Yankees' Gerrit Cole out 1-2 months with elbow injury, report says

During her world travels,  Queen Elizabeth made a brief trip to Connecticut as well as to New York City in July 1976 as part of the celebration of the Bicentennial of the American Revolution.

During Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh's visit to New York City, they visited the New York Stock Exchange and managed to squeeze in a visit to Bloomingdale's. She was even named an honorary citizen of the city.

queen elizabeth visits to united states

Documentation of the visit is maintained by the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum.

On the night of Friday, July 9, 1976,  Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, set sail on the HMY Britannia from New York to New Haven .

The  New York Times website  has a story from the Associated Press from July 11, 1976, which says 50,000 people lined the docks, streets and the airport in New Haven for a glimpse of the queen’s 40‐minute visit.

QUEEN ELIZABETH'S 2010 VISIT INCLUDES TRIBUTE TO 9/11 VICTIMS

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh's 2010 visit to New York City was the culmination of an 8-day tour of Canada. A day before heading back to England, the queen addressed the United Nations. Before this, she last addressed the UN in 1957.

queen elizabeth visits to united states

The queen's trip was an emotional one, as Her Majesty and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh visited Ground Zero and paid their respects to the lives lost during the 9/11 terrorist attacks and laid a wreath at the site of the World Trade Center.

queen elizabeth visits to united states

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh also visited The British Garden in Hanover Square located in the Financial District. The garden stands as a memorial memorial to the British who died at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

queen elizabeth visits to united states

Two years later, the garden was renamed "The Queen Elizabeth II September 11th Garden, Inc.” as the memorial for all the Commonwealth victims of the 9/11 attacks and honoring Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee.

queen elizabeth visits to united states

This article tagged under:

queen elizabeth visits to united states

  • Skip to main content
  • Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

thumbnail

The Visit of Queen Elizabeth II

  • Subscribe to NPR's Up First Email

Etiquette Advice Abounds Amid Queen's Visit

May 7, 2007 • Queen Elizabeth II's six-day visit to the U.S., her first official trip to the country since 1991, has spawned a cottage industry of royal etiquette advice.

Beleaguered Bush Hosts Queen, Wins French Ally

May 7, 2007 • President Bush's popularity is flagging, but he is playing host to the very popular Queen Elizabeth II, and has a new ally in France. Here's a look at what might be in store for President Bush.

Queen, Street Sense Thrill Derby Spectators

May 6, 2007 • On the latest stop of her six-day state visit, England's Queen Elizabeth II attended the annual running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. She witnessed one of the more exciting Derby's of recent years, with horse Street Sense moving from 19th position to the front to win the race.

Will the Queen Make a Derby Fashion Statement?

May 5, 2007 • Queen Elizabeth II is recognized for her collection of hats. And her appearance at the Kentucky Derby will once again put her choice of headgear on public display.

Queen Elizabeth II Makes Derby Pilgrimage

May 5, 2007 • Typically the talk at the Kentucky Derby is about what horse will win, and whether the winning horse can take the Triple Crown. But this year the biggest gossip is all about Britian's Queen Elizabeth II. An avid horsewoman, she was at Churchill Downs for the race.

Reporter's Notebook

The queen's visit to virginia.

May 5, 2007 • Britain's Queen Elizabeth II visits the United States for the celebration in Virginia of the 400th anniversary of the 1607 founding of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the New World. She also paid tribute to the Virginia Tech shooting victims.

Queen Elizabeth Tours Virginia

May 4, 2007 • In her first visit to the U.S. in more than a decade, England's Queen Elizabeth II is expected to tour Jamestown and Williamsburg, Va., Friday. She last visited America in 1991.

Queen Elizabeth's Trip Includes Visit to Tech Victims

May 3, 2007 • Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is in the United States for a weeklong state visit to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, the first permanent British colony in America. In Richmond, Va., the queen spoke this afternoon at the state capitol about the long friendship between the United States and the United Kingdom.

Queen Seeks to Fly 'Green' on U.S. Visit

May 3, 2007 • As Queen Elizabeth II begins her state visit to the United States, she will pay $20,000 for a "carbon offset." That's a fee paid to compensate for the carbon that her flights across the Atlantic and around America will spew into the air. The money will go towards a project to reduce greenhouse gases.

Jamestown's Early Days Were Brutish and Short

May 3, 2007 • This month marks the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, Va., the first permanent English settlement in North America. Many historians see Jamestown as the birthplace of modern America. Was the original colony really a success?

Queen Elizabeth Prepares for Her American Visit

May 2, 2007 • Britain's Queen Elizabeth II will arrive in the United States on Thursday for a state visit that centers on the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, Va. — the first permanent English settlement on American soil. The queen and her husband, Prince Philip, will attend the Kentucky Derby on Saturday.

  • Megaprojects
  • Expo City Dubai
  • UAE in Space
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Palestine-Israel
  • Arab Showcase
  • Australasia
  • The Americas
  • Cryptocurrencies
  • Travel and Tourism
  • Environment
  • Road to Net Zero
  • Fashion & Beauty
  • Home & Garden
  • Things to do
  • Art & Design
  • Film & TV
  • Music & On-stage
  • Pop Culture
  • Combat Sports
  • Horse Racing
  • Beyond the Headlines
  • Trending Middle East
  • Business Extra
  • Culture Bites
  • Year of Elections
  • Pocketful of Dirhams
  • Books of My Life
  • Iraq: 20 Years On

Queen Elizabeth II 'floored' Americans during final visit to US in 2007

She impressed in the jamestown settlement with her grace and ability to wear heels on rocky ground.

Queen Elizabeth II at the White House during her state visit to the US in 2007, to mark the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first English settlers. Getty

Queen Elizabeth II at the White House during her state visit to the US in 2007, to mark the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first English settlers. Getty

Laura O'Callaghan author image

Queen Elizabeth II left a lasting impression on Americans during her final visit to the US, given her grace, confidence and ability to wear heels on rocky ground.

The late monarch and her husband Prince Philip embarked on a six-day tour in 2007 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the establishment of the first British settlement in America.

The couple were received by the president at the time, George W Bush, and his wife Laura. The pair threw a state dinner at the White House in honour of the sovereign.

The queen, a lifelong lover of horses, also attended the Kentucky Derby during her tour. However, it was her visit to the Jamestown settlement in Williamsburg, Virginia, that personified the significance of the historic visit.

“It was very, very clear that she was reflecting on our site,” David Givens, director of archaeology at the Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation, told The National. “She conveyed to the team overall that this was the beginnings of the British Empire ― Jamestown. We were floored.”

The small island near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay became the first successful English colony in 1607 ― and thus the British Empire had spread to the US.

Archaeologists have for years worked at the site in an attempt to discover the workings of the first English settlers. When the queen visited Jamestown in 1957 for the 350th anniversary, researchers believed the remains of the fort were underwater. By the time she returned five decades later, there had been a breakthrough as diggers had unearthed the foundations of the settlement on land.

Queen Elizabeth II impressed staff at the Jamestown Rediscovery Project by touring the site in heels. Photo: Jamestown Rediscovery Project

Mr Givens described how it was “such an honour” to have the queen visit the site and have his team’s archaeological dig acknowledged by such a prominent figure. Staff showed her and the Duke of Edinburgh their remarkable finds, including a pit filled with dozens of sword hilts used by settlers who crossed the water on boats.

Before receiving their guest of honour and her consort, the team went to a local DIY store to pick up supplies. Members then built custom-made stairs to enable the queen to walk down to the archaeological site.

But while extra safety measures were shunned by the monarch’s team, President Bush’s inner circle demanded a railing be constructed especially for the leader’s visit the following week.

“I was concerned…'do we need railing for her, do we need any kind of safety things?',” Mr Givens said, recalling a conversation he had with the queen’s private secretary. “And he said ‘oh no, she’ll just pop down into the site'.

“The queen of England walked down those ding-dang stairs. And in heels. She was wearing heels. She walked a third of a mile from the museum out to the site.

“President Bush also used those stairs ― but his secretary asked us to install a guard and handrail. That kind of struck me ― the differences.”

The queen’s trip also included a meeting with the leader of a tribe of Native Americans.

Throughout her 70-year reign, the sovereign visited the US several times and undertook three state visits of the country.

From Harry Truman to Joe Biden , the head of Britain’s royal family met with 13 of the last 14 US presidents.

The death of the queen at Balmoral on September 8 “was our loss as well”, Mr Givens said, as he praised the monarch for time and again reaching out to the American people.

“Her grace at the site was just something to behold,” he said. “She was such a powerful person and she exuded that in the way she conducted herself.

“You primed yourself just to be in amazement.

“As Americans, we’re a former part of a British colony, we often project things on to people but, at that time, I was struck that she was exuding a confidence and a character that you don’t often see.

“She was just phenomenal.”

His colleague Michael Lavin, director of collections and conservation at Jamestown, commended the queen for her “great run” of 96 years of life and 70 years on the throne.

“She was not disinterested, she was not going through the motions, she was not doing this to tick a box,” he told The National, recalling his meeting with her in 2007. “This was something that she wanted to do and she cared about what we here at the small little site were doing. It was very sad to hear of her passing.”

Queen Elizabeth II in the US - in pictures

Reagan laughs following a joke by Queen Elizabeth, who commented on the lousy California weather she has experienced since her arrival in the US. Getty Images

Reagan laughs following a joke by Queen Elizabeth, who commented on the lousy California weather she has experienced since her arrival in the US. Getty Images

View from London

Your weekly update from the UK and Europe

View from London

  • Entertainment
  • Sports Sports Betting Podcasts Better Planet Vault Mightier Autos Newsletters Unconventional Vantage Experts Voices
  • Sports Betting
  • Better Planet
  • Newsletters
  • Unconventional

Ten Times the British Royals Visited the U.S. in Style

Since King George VI became the first ruling British monarch to visit the United States in 1939, the Windsors have been exporting their own brand of royal glamour stateside from California to New York and countless states in between.

Queen Elizabeth II visited the U.S. seven times; five of these included state dinners at the White House and two were classed as "private" trips.

As well as the queen, her sister Princess Margaret visited the country on a number of occasions, followed by another glamorous royal, Princess Diana.

Royal Visits To The U.S.

The princess was spending increasing amounts of time in the U.S. (in particular New York) at the time of her tragic death aged just 36 in 1997 when her car crashed in a Paris tunnel.

Diana's two sons, Princes William and Harry, have also spent time in the States, William alongside his wife Kate Middleton (now the Prince and Princess of Wales ) and Harry with Meghan Markle , who now reside in California with their two children.

Here, Newsweek looks at 10 times the British royals visited the U.S. in style over nine decades and two reigns.

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, Washington, July 1939

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (later The Queen Mother ) became the first ruling British sovereigns to visit the U.S. in 1939 before the outbreak of World War II.

The royal couple combined their U.S. trip with a tour of Canada and became friends with President and Mrs. Roosevelt.

George VI and Queen Elizabeth in Washington

Princess Margaret, Washington, November 1965

Princess Margaret , Queen Elizabeth II 's younger sister, visited the U.S. on a number of occasions. Her most notable visit came in 1965 where she attended a formal dinner at the White House with President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Princess Margaret U.S. Visit 1965

Duke and Duchess of Windsor, New York, May 1967

After abdicating the throne to marry the twice-divorced, Pennsylvania-born Wallis Simpson , the Duke of Windsor and his new duchess visited the U.S. regularly, traveling by ship and staying in New York hotels.

The duke and duchess were regular features on the New York social scene at balls and parties when they were not otherwise occupied at their home in Paris.

Duke and Duchess of Windsor NYC 1967

Queen Elizabeth II, Washington, July 1976

Queen Elizabeth II paid a state visit to the U.S. in 1976 to celebrate the country's bicentennial.

During her visit, which included a trip to Boston, which Prince William and Kate Middleton are visiting in December, the queen was hosted at a state banquet by President Gerald Ford at the White House.

Queen Elizabeth II Visits Washington 1976

  • Princess Diana silences New York heckler in rare resurfaced video
  • Princess Diana's Most Famous Dresses
  • Kate's Riskiest Red Carpet Yet: Duchess' Gown Compared to Past Premieres

Prince Charles and Princess Diana, Washington, November 1985

Princess Diana's first official visit to the U.S. as a member of the royal family was made four years into her turbulent marriage to Prince Charles (now King Charles III ).

The princess won great favor in the States, with the highlight of the visit being her star performance dancing with John Travolta in a glamorous black evening gown at a dinner reception hosted at the White House by President Ronald Reagan.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana Washington, 1985

Princess Diana, New York, December 1996

As Princess Diana's marriage to Prince Charles came to its end, the royal spent increasing time in the U.S. on private visits to see friends or attend charity events.

In December 1996, the princess attended a number of events in New York City, including a United Cerebral Palsy charity humanitarian of the year awards dinner and the famed Met Gala.

Princess Diana in New York, 1996

Princess Diana, Washington, June 1997

Princess Diana's last visit to the U.S. was made just weeks before her death at the age of 36 in a Paris car crash on August 31, 1997.

During her visit to Washington the princess visited First Lady Hillary Clinton at the White House and attended events connected with her campaign to end the use of landmines.

Princess Diana Visits Washington 1997

Queen Elizabeth II, Washington 2007

Queen Elizabeth II's last official visit to the U.S. came in 2007 where she was hosted by President George W. Bush .

The visit was organized to celebrate the 400th Anniversary of the Jamestown settlement in Virginia and the monarch also attended a state dinner at the White House.

Queen Elizabeth II U.S. Visit 2007

Prince William and Kate Middleton, California, July 2011

Prince William and Kate Middleton, now the Prince and Princess of Wales, have visited the U.S. twice before on official engagements.

The first visit took place months after their April 2011 wedding where they attended a number of events in California following a tour of Canada. During their visit William took part in a charity polo match as well as attending a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) event in Hollywood.

Prince William and Kate Middleton U.S. 2011

Meghan Markle, New York, February 2019

Meghan Markle is the first American-born senior member of the British royal family, not including the Duchess of Windsor who did not play any official royal role.

Before she moved back to the U.S. with Prince Harry in 2020 following a strained period in Britain, Meghan visited New York City in February 2019 to attend a private baby shower and to watch friend Serena Williams participate in a U.S. Open tennis match.

Meghan Markle New York City 2019

Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email [email protected]. We'd love to hear from you.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer

James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family and royal fashion. He has covered contemporary and historic issues facing King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, the late Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Diana. James joined Newsweek in 2022 having previously contributed to titles such as The Lady, Majesty Magazine and Drapers. He also spent a number of years working with the curatorial department at Historic Royal Palaces, based at Kensington Palace, and contributed to the exhibitions Fashion Rules: Restyled (2016) and Diana: Her Fashion Story (2017). He also undertook private research projects with the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection. He is a graduate of University College London and Central Saint Martins, where he studied fashion history. Languages: English.

You can get in touch with James by emailing [email protected].

To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.

Newsweek cover

  • Newsweek magazine delivered to your door
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go

Newsweek cover

  • Home delivery option available

Top stories

queen elizabeth visits to united states

Texas Hospital Sees 'Devastating' Border Casualties

queen elizabeth visits to united states

Alina Habba Appears to Have Been Demoted

queen elizabeth visits to united states

Ken Buck Teases More Republican Resignations Are Coming

queen elizabeth visits to united states

Mike Johnson's GOP Retreat Flops as Republicans Skip Event

Newsweek magazine cover

While we certainly appreciate historical preservation, it looks like your browser is a bit too historic to properly view whitehousehistory.org. — a browser upgrade should do the trick.

Main Content

Queen Elizabeth II

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II first came to Washington D.C. as Princess Elizabeth in 1951 with his Royal Highness, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and stayed with President Harry Truman and his family at Blair House.

Queen Elizabeth II and her consort, Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh came to stay with President Dwight Eisenhower and First Lady Mamie Eisenhower for four days at the White House in October 1957.

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II and her consort, his Royal Highness Prince Philip opened the doors of Buckingham Palace to President John Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in June 1961.

Queen Elizabeth II never met with President Lyndon B. Johnson, but her sister, Princess Margaret and her husband the Earl of Snowdon made an official visit to the White House on November 17, 1965. In this photograph, President Lyndon B. Johnson and First Lady Lady Bird Johnson meet with Princess Margaret and her husband, the Earl of Snowdon, in the Queens' Bedroom.

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Prime Minister Edward Heath are joined by President Richard Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon during the Nixons' visit to the United Kingdom October 1970.

President Gerald R. Ford and First Lady Betty Ford hosted a State Dinner in honor of Queen Elizabeth II in the Rose Garden on July 7, 1976. The occasion also coincided with the American bicentennial celebration.

President Jimmy Carter attended a Summit Dinner with other world leaders on May 7, 1977. Queen Elizabeth II and her consort Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh hosted the group at Buckingham Palace.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh invited President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan to a formal dinner in Windsor Castle on June 8, 1982.

This photograph captures Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain as she and President George H. W. Bush plant a little-leaf linden tree on the South Lawn of the White House Grounds on May 14, 1991. Queen Elizabeth visited the White House as part of an official State Visit. This tree replaced the one planted by President Franklin Roosevelt in honor of King George VI's coronation in 1937--the tree had been toppled by a storm a year earlier. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Elizabeth's husband, and First Lady Barbara Bush observe the ceremony from afar. The Bushes also hosted Queen Elizabeth II for a State Dinner that evening.

President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton toured Buckingham Palace with Queen Elizabeth II and her consort Prince Philip in November 1995 as part of a five day European tour.

To celebrate the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh visited the United States and were hosted for a State Dinner by President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush on May 7, 2007.

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are welcomed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to Buckingham Palace in London, England, April 1, 2009.

President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump pose for a photo with Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall on Monday, June 3, 2019, prior to attending a state banquet at Buckingham Palace in London.

In this image, taken on June 13, 2021, President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden pose for a photograph with Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle.

About this Gallery

As the longest-reigning British monarch in history, Queen Elizabeth II met with more than a dozen sitting American presidents. Explore the gallery to learn more about these historic moments!

Find us on...

  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Pinterest

Next Queen Elizabeth II: The Royal Visits

You Might Also Like

Queen elizabeth ii: the royal visits.

Foreword: Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Marks a Seventy-Year White House Friendship by Marcia Mallet AndersonPomp. Circumstance, and a Ro...

Podcast 250 Years of American Political Leadership

The American experiment has long held the curiosity of people around the world, especially for Iain Dale, an award-winning British...

Collection State Dinners

A State Dinner honoring a visiting head of government or reigning monarch is one of the grandest and most glamorous...

White House History Table of Contents

NUMBERS 1 THROUGH 6 (COLLECTION I) WHITE HOUSE HISTORY • NUMBER 1 1 — Foreword by Melvin M. Payne 5 — President Kennedy’s Rose Garden by Rachel Lambert...

Articles & Publications

Since joining the White House Historical Association in 2014, Stewart McLaurin has had been published a number of times. Topics range...

Book Awards

2023 2023 Best Book Awards Furnishing the White House: The Decorative Arts Collection, Finalist, Art Life in the White House, Finalist, History:...

The United Kingdom and Ireland in the White House Symposium Scholarly Contributors

Luncheon PresentersRandolph ChurchillRandolph Churchill was born shortly before the death of his great-grandfather, Sir Winston Churchill, in January 1965. After attending...

White House History - Selected Back Issues and Articles

Bio betty ford.

Elizabeth “Betty” Bloomer was born on April 8, 1918, in Chicago, Illinois, and spent most of her childhood in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She...

The Life and Presidency of Gerald R. Ford

Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr., the nation’s only unelected president and vice president, was born Leslie Lynch King Jr. in Om...

Examples of State Dinners Throughout History

December 22, 1874: First State Dinner for a foreign head of state King David Kalakaua of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Hosted by...

The Presidents and the National Parks

The national parks preceded the National Park Service, but the first great natural park was a state park. California’s Yo...

Renew Today To Preserve and Protect History

US Edition Change

  • US election 2024
  • US Politics
  • UK Politics
  • News Videos
  • Rugby Union
  • Sports Videos
  • Photography
  • Theatre & Dance
  • Culture Videos
  • Food & Drink
  • Health & Families
  • Royal Family
  • Electric Vehicles
  • Lifestyle Videos
  • News & Advice
  • Simon Calder
  • Inspiration
  • City Guides
  • Sustainable Travel
  • Politics Explained
  • News Analysis
  • Home & Garden
  • Fashion & Beauty
  • Travel & Outdoors
  • Sports & Fitness
  • Sustainable Living
  • Climate Videos
  • Electric vehicles
  • Behind The Headlines
  • On The Ground
  • Decomplicated
  • You Ask The Questions
  • Binge Watch
  • Travel Smart
  • Watch on your TV
  • Crosswords & Puzzles
  • Most Commented
  • Newsletters
  • Ask Me Anything
  • Virtual Events

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in Please refresh your browser to be logged in

Queen Elizabeth’s long and special relationship with America

She was just 25 and still a princess when she and prince philip made their first visit to united states in 1951, writes andrew buncombe, article bookmarked.

Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile

The Queen riding with Ronald Reagan at Windsor in June 1982. The US president wrote in his diary that the day had been ‘a fairy tale experience’

Evening Headlines

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday

Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the us, thanks for signing up to the evening headlines email.

S he met every sitting US president but one. She stayed with another president, Harry Truman , before she was even the monarch, and met one more, Herbert Hoover, 20 years after he had left office.

Queen Elizabeth II –  who has died aged 96 after 70 years on the throne – made six official trips to the US, including three state visits with all the pomp and ceremony that involved. She also made a number of private visits, many of them in pursuit of her love of horse racing and the thoroughbreds of Kentucky.

She was just 25 and still a princess when she, and Prince Philip, made her first visit to the United States in 1951, staying with President Truman at Blair House while renovations to the White House were being carried out.

In 1957, she and Philip returned for her first state visit and were met at the White House by President Dwight Eisenhower and his wife Mamie.

He was the first serving president she met during her reign, which began in 1952.

In 2021, the Queen met Joe Biden – whom she had previously spoken to when he was a senator – bringing to 13 the total of presidents in office she met. The only sitting president she did not speak to face to face was Lyndon Johnson.

In one obvious sense, the number of American presidents she met is a striking reminder of the length of her reign. (When Eisenhower was in office, his political counterpart in London was Winston Churchill.)

Latest updates as Queen Elizabeth dies peacefully in Scotland

Supporters and admirers of the Queen say the connections she was able to make helped add personal cement to the relationship between the two countries, almost 250 years after what was a British colony fought for and secured its independence from King George III.

And diplomats from both the US and Britain say London was able to use the Queen’s soft power, and the prospect of a photo opportunity at Buckingham Palace, knowing the allure it held to some, even if they got to meet other heads of state all around the world. (In 2018, the Queen hosted Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump, even as anti-Trump protesters demonstrated in central London and inflated a balloon that showed the US president wearing a nappy – or diaper).

Elizabeth was just 13 when the Second World War broke out, and she came of age – later serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, the women’s branch of the British army – at a time when the US’s importance to Britain, and to its very survival, could not have been more stark.

Recommended

  • Biden pays tribute to Queen Elizabeth: ‘She defined an era’
  • Queen Elizabeth II dies after historic 70-year reign as Britain’s longest-serving monarch
  • Queen Elizabeth II: The longest reigning monarch in British history
  • Charles III: King’s official title confirmed by Buckingham Palace

Historian Robert Hardman, author of a number of books about the monarch including Queen of the World , says her growing up at a time of conflict – she served in the Women’s Land Army – resulted in her seeing the United States as a saviour of sorts for Britain and Europe.

That in turn has helped to shape the way many Americans, particularly admirers of the monarch, view her.

“It was quite well summed up years ago by a Washington journalist based in London: he just said that the Queen, to so many Americans, symbolised stability and permanence in a changing world – characteristics that people find very endearing,” he tells The Independent . “The shared bond of sacrifice, the war, the Second World War in particular, is seen as a big deal in public life.”

He adds: “Generations move on, but the royal family is very much identified with that sort of great transatlantic alliance that – it’s not an exaggeration to say – saved the free world.”

A royal diplomatic carrot

Diplomats from the US and Britain have said the Queen was used frequently to the benefit of both sides, even if any record of the visits of Her Majesty to the US, or a US president to Britain, tend to contain any manner of incidents of “protocol breaches”, as noted by royal watchers.

These included Trump’s walking in front of the Queen, instead of alongside her, and turning his back on her as they reviewed an honour guard, and Michelle Obama’s brief placing of an arm around the Queen’s back as they commiserated with each other about their aching feet.

Donald Trump and Queen Elizabeth II inspect a guard of honour at Windsor Castle, in July 2018. He caused a brief breach of protocol by walking in front of her

In 2007, during the Queen’s last visit to the US, George W Bush momentarily mixed up a date of an earlier trip – a 1976 state dinner to mark the bicentennial of the American Revolution – saying she had been there in “17….”. He caught himself before he went any further, and added: “She gave me a look that only a mother could give a child.”

The 1976 visit was also not without note. Gerald Ford threw a dinner at the White House and invited the likes of Cary Grant. Reports suggest all went well until Ford led the Queen to the dance floor, perhaps not aware that the song sounding out through the room was “The Lady Is a Tramp”.

“I think it’s useful on both sides,” says Raymond Seitz, a career diplomat who served as US ambassador to London from 1991 to 1994, the last non-political appointee dispatched by Washington to the Court of St James’s.

“For the British, I think it is useful to see that there is a commonality of interests and history that has more or less worked to the benefit of both countries. Of course, the Queen will do her duty no matter what she thinks of the US president.

“And on the American side, because we tend to be a little rambunctious in our politics, and some of our decision-making, having affirmation from the British, not to mention participation from the British, is always valuable for an American president. So it’s not America going alone.”

Seitz says the US is overwhelmingly a celebrity culture. And because the Queen has been seen in that pigeonhole, few have understood her specific role or the purpose of the Commonwealth.

“There’s this extremely glamorous aspect to the monarchy. And so Americans want to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace,” he says. “And you don’t have to be a descendant of Anglos to like it, you know, Italian Americans go and Black Americans go and it’s just something to see.”

Seitz travelled with the Queen to Texas and Florida in 1991, when George HW Bush was president, and the monarch embarked on a 13-day tour that would include an address to Congress and a visit to the baseball match between the Baltimore Orioles and the Oakland Athletics. (A preview in The New York Times noted that the Queen “will be offered a hot dog but that she does not eat in public”.)

At the White House, she joked about being part of the bicentennial celebrations  15 years earlier.

“With gallant disregard for history, we shared wholeheartedly in the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the founding of this great nation,” she said.

She told the joint session of Congress: “The concept, so simply described by Abraham Lincoln as ‘government by the people, of the people, for the people’, is fundamental to our two nations. Your Congress and our parliament are the twin pillars of our civilisations and the chief among the many treasures that we have inherited from our predecessors.”

Seitz says the royal visitors drew warm crowds, even if not everyone was certain of who precisely they were.

“In Austin, Texas, the crowds were out, and they were waving little union jacks, and not quite sure who she was, but that she was pretty terrific,” he says. “And I think most people have just a very favourable image of her. And of course, the older she is, the longer she’s there, she’s like everybody’s grandmother.”

Seitz says he spoke to the Queen several times, always at social events.

“She has a very good sense of humour. And she’s very easy to talk to and interested in things and follows up after a conversation,” he adds.

“And she has a charming laugh. She says, when something’s funny, she really enjoys the humour of it. My encounters were always very pleasant. But I never had to talk hard business.”

‘Free men everywhere look towards the United States with affection and with hope’

Elizabeth’s first visit to the US was in October 1951, when the 25-year-old was not yet Queen. She and Philip spent two days in Washington DC, hosted by President Truman and his wife Bess. They had travelled to DC from Canada, where she was also making her first trip.

The then Princess Elizabeth poses with President Harry Truman in October 1951

Her father, George VI, was very ill from lung cancer at this point, and he would die just months later, on 6 February 1952, his death at Sandringham Estate setting in motion Elizabeth’s ascent to the throne, and her subsequent coronation in June 1953.

Reports noted Elizabeth gave Truman an elaborate 18th-century “overmantle” to hang above a fireplace in the White House.

Meeting the royal couple at Washington national airport, Truman said: “I think your visit will improve – if that is possible – the cordial relations that exist between our two great countries, and I hope that while you are here you will have a very enjoyable time.”

In response, Elizabeth said during her time in Canada, she heard “much of the warm goodwill felt by the people of the United States towards the people of Canada, and I am glad that before sailing for England we are to have this chance of seeing at least some of the country with which the whole British Commonwealth has so many friendly ties”.

She added: “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.”

Later, Truman said that, while he had received many guests in Washington, “never before have we had such a wonderful young couple, who have so completely captured the hearts of all of us”.

A new age of discovery – plus a game of college football

Five years after that first visit to the US, the Queen and Prince Phillip returned for her first state visit, the 31-year-old monarch being met at the White House by President Eisenhower and his wife Mamie. Eisenhower was the first serving president she met during her reign.

President Eisenhower talks to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip during her first state visit to the US in October 1957

In addition to events in Washington DC and New York, the Queen attended the 350th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown in 1607, the first permanent English settlement in North America. (It was also the site of the first landing of slaves, in 1619, the commencement of more than two centuries of slavery that would continue until the end of the American civil war in 1865.)

The Queen received a 21-gun salute and was welcomed at Jamestown by Virginia governor Thomas Stanley.

According to a report in the Richmond Times Dispatch , Elizabeth said in her remarks: “I cannot think of a more appropriate point for us to start our visit to the United States.”

She added: “The settlement in Jamestown was the beginning of a series of overseas settlements made throughout the world by British pioneers. Jamestown grew and became the United States. Those other settlements grew and became nations now united in our great Commonwealth.”

The Queen visited an exhibit of the settlement and had tea at the College of William and Mary, and attended a religious service in the Old Tower Church on Jamestown island. She and Philip would spend two nights at the Williamsburg Inn.

To bring the Queen to Washington, Eisenhower had sent his official aircraft, the Columbine III , to Patrick Henry airport in Newport News.

At a state dinner at the White House, the Queen said; “There are many indications today that we are at the beginning of a new age of discovery and exploration in the world of human knowledge and technology. Only a short time ago these unexplored areas of human knowledge seemed as impenetrable as the forests of this continent to the settlers 350 years ago.”

Her visit also took in a college football match, watching the Maryland Terrapins beat the North Carolina Tar Heels 21-7, at the University of Maryland, on the outskirts of Washington DC.

The Queen left for New York, where she addressed a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.

She said: “This assembly was born of the endeavours of countless men and women from different nations who, over the centuries, have pursued the aims of the preservation of peace between nations, equality of justice for all before the law and the right of the peoples of the world to live their lives in freedom and security.”

She would not return to the US on an official basis until 1976 when she travelled to see Gerald Ford for the bicentennial celebration, an event that was also a state visit. She made official trips, though not state visits, in 1983 when she visited President Ronald Reagan, 1991 when she met President George HW Bush, and 2007 when she returned for the 400th anniversary of the English settlement in Jamestown

‘The only absolutely central item in president’s visit is this riding event’

Perhaps the most telling insight of the Queen’s power as a diplomatic tool with the wrapping of pageantry came during the presidency of Ronald Reagan, who served two terms, and visited London in June 1982 while the Falklands conflict was still going on.

The British government, led by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, was concerned to ensure the US’s support in a critical UN vote over the Falklands. The visit by Reagan was the first by a president for five years, but the invitation from the Queen – rather than the government – was the first of its kind since one made to Woodrow Wilson in 1919.

Reagan also had to juggle a one-day trip to the Vatican to visit the Pope, an economic summit in Paris, and the fallout from the British media again finding fault with a breach of protocol. (First lady Nancy shook hands and did not curtsy, triggering a series of hard stories.)

Queen Elizabeth and President Reagan out riding in Windsor Home Park in June 1982

Reagan was also the first US president to address the Houses of Parliament.

Yet, documents obtained by the historian Hardman under a freedom of information request show the importance Reagan attached to an invitation from the Queen to ride with her at Windsor.

“Mrs Thatcher had worked very hard to bring Ronald Reagan onside in the conflict, despite the reluctance of some American strategists for whom Argentina served as a bulwark against the spread of communism in South America,” Hardman writes in Queen of Our Times .

Documents show Sir Nico Henderson, the British ambassador to Washington, reporting to London: “I need hardly say that the only absolutely stable and central item in any discussion of the president’s visit is this riding event.”

The ride, which lasted an hour around the Windsor estate, went off without a hitch, despite being “pursued by US Secret Service outriders in a state of near panic”.

Reagan wrote in his diaries that day: “Flew out for London and helicoptered to Windsor Castle. This was a fairy tale experience.”

A year later, Reagan returned the compliment, inviting the Queen to ride with him at his ranch in California, an offer he did not make to any other head of state.

Hardman says reading the documents it becomes clear that this was the “personal magic, which really matters to the most powerful man in the world at the time when Britain really needs his help”.

‘She’s enjoyed discussing horse breeding and meeting the people who run these farms’

In addition to the six official visits to the US, the Queen made several private visits and in particular was drawn to the bluegrass state of Kentucky. There she pursued her fondness for horse racing.

Her first visit came in October 1984, to celebrate the inauguration of a race named in her honour, the Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes, held at Keeneland, Lexington. The first race’s winner was Sintra, a Kentucky-bred horse. 

Seth Hancock, one of the half-owners of the horse, told a reporter from the Lexington Courier-Journal : “The queen’s a regular person, just like my mother and all the other classy ladies I’ve known in my life.”

The other half-owner, Renee Lickle, confessed to being more starstruck. “My hands were shaking so hard I couldn’t even hold my binoculars straight.”

She returned in 1986 and 1989, for what officials said was a “working holiday” with few if any public appearances.

The Queen is said to have stayed at Lane’s End, a farm in Versailles, west of Lexington, owned by her friend William Farish and where she stabled horses. Farish met Prince Charles while playing polo and was introduced to the Queen at a match she sponsored in England. Farish would later serve as US ambassador to London.

British embassy spokesman Francis Cornish told reporters at the time that the Queen was returning to Kentucky because there was no match for its status as a centre of horse breeding, and she had “thoroughly enjoyed herself” during her previous two visits.

“She’s enjoyed seeing the stallions,” Cornish said. “She’s enjoyed discussing horse breeding and she’s very much enjoyed meeting the people who run these farms and own these farms.”

The Queen returned twice more to Kentucky, in 1991, as the “unofficial” part of her official visit, and in May 2007 when she and Philip attended the 133rd Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.

Former Buckingham Palace press secretary Dickie Arbiter told the WLKY television channel that year: “There are those ... who would probably say that she likes animals a little more than she likes people. And I suppose it can be argued that the animals are always pleased to see you and they don’t argue back.”

‘For many Americans it’s amazing she was Queen when Winston Churchill was prime minister’

The Queen’s last official visit to the United States was in May 2007 when she travelled to mark the 400th anniversary of the Jamestown settlement, near Williamsburg, Virginia.

She was welcomed at the White House by George W Bush, and at the British embassy in Washington DC by the ambassador Sir David Manning. In his role as Britain’s envoy, Sir David accompanied the Queen’s party.

The Queen and Prince Philip with former president George HW Bush, former first lady Barbara, and United States Park Service director Mary Bomaras, during a visit to the World War II Memorial in Washington DC, in May 2007

He believes the Queen’s admiration for the US was largely mutual.

“The affection for her was very clear when she came to the United States on her last state visit in 2007,” he says from London.

“And the one in 2007, in some ways, reprised the very first one because she arrived in Jamestown, and then went to Williamsburg. And when she stayed in Williamsburg, she stayed in a hotel that had wonderful photographs of her from the very first time in 1957.”

Sir David points out that the Queen met every US president who served during her reign bar Lyndon Johnson.

“And it was a source of fascination and amazement to many Americans that this was somebody who first came to the throne when Winston Churchill was the British prime minister,” he says. “And Churchill, as we all know very well, is a cult figure in the United States.”

He adds that for many Americans there was a sense of history about her, a link that goes right back to those days of Eisenhower and Churchill. “She, I think, is also enormously admired as being someone who lived through the Second World War.”

Sir David says during their time in Washington DC, the Queen and Prince Philip visited the then recently new World War II Memorial. They toured it, not with Bush but Bush’s father, George HW Bush, and former first lady Barbara Bush.

“This was a very moving event because all of them had lived through the war. There was Prince Philip, who had been on destroyers, and the Queen had been in the [Women’s] Land Army, and President Bush had been a fighter pilot,” he says.

“And I think this all has great resonance for Americans. And so I think there is a fascination and attachment.”

Sir David also spent 10 years as an adviser to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (William and Kate), and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (Harry and Meghan).

In March 2021, Meghan and Harry delivered a withering account of the palace in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, accusing it of racism and officials of ignoring the couple’s appeal for help with their mental wellbeing.

Does Sir David believe events like that, or allegations made against her second son Prince Andrew in lawsuits filed in New York of sexual assault – claims he denied but which the Queen helped him to financially settle – tarnished her reputation?

He says that now he is living outside the US, it is impossible for him to say. However, he doubts it.

“Maybe other members of the family come up and come down, and they’re less or more popular, but I think the Queen is in a rather special category of her own, probably,” he says.

“I doubt whether the assessment of her is much affected by what the rest of the family do.”

He says that the controversy over Meghan and Harry is, of course, part of her reign, but doubts “it will much impact on how she was viewed from the United States”.

He says that she was “championing the Commonwealth, she’s champion decolonisation, she’s obviously absolutely happy in the company of all sorts of leaders from all around the world, and what’s more, she knows them all very well, I think that is much more the image Americans are likely to take away”.

Final visit and  a ‘vision in champagne’

During the six-day state visit in 2007, the staff at the Williamsburg Inn had set out photographs of the Queen, from her first visit 40 years earlier. The Inn has a long history of welcoming heads of state and government, and VIPs, among them the late Margaret Thatcher, who in 1993 was made chancellor of the College of William and Mary, located in Williamsburg.

Queen Elizabeth tours Jamestown settlement on 4 May 2007 in Williamsburg, Virginia

Leslie Noble, the general manager, recalls her visit as one that was very warm and says that for many staff, the Queen’s visit would have been special, particularly given she was coming to celebrate 400 years since the founding of Jamestown.

Noble was supposed to have been in the farewell line that sent her off but because of a mix-up, she and her staff were sent out to wave at her departing helicopter.

“I was so impressed by her composure with this crowd in the lobby. How kind she was to the two little girls that gave the flowers,” she says, speaking from Williamsburg.

“She was only here less than 24 hours. But I watched her go up and down the staircase to her suite numerous times. Travelling up the steps like it was nothing, and these high-heeled shoes, and just the energy she had, even in her eighties.

“And I thought how remarkable she was, always seemed so composed and so friendly, smiling to people, even as she was heading back to her room to change for the next event that she had,” she adds.

Noble recalls that ahead of her visit, the Inn had been contacted by the Queen’s senior dresser, Angela Kelly, whose formal title is personal adviser to Her Majesty (The Queen’s Wardrobe).

She says Kelly told her the Queen had described her 1957 visit in such detail that she felt she had visited the Inn herself, even though at that point she had not.

President John F Kennedy with his wife Jacqueline, meeting the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace in June 1961

The monarch had even remembered the gown she wore, though not its colour, as she had that item in two particular tones – blue and beige. Most photographs from the time were black and white.

Nat Reed, the Inn’s former superintendent of guest services, had worked during the Queen’s first visit, and retired in 1984.

During the time of the Queen’s second visit, Reed was in his nineties, but his memory was also sharp. (Reed died in 2009, aged 93, and his story in the Richmond Times was headlined “Nathaniel Reid, who served royalty at Williamsburg Inn, dies at 93”.)

“When asked about the colour of the gown – and they didn’t give him a choice – he just immediately said ‘she was a vision in champagne’,” says Noble.

“So she did remember her time with us and remembers that enough that she described it 50 years later in such detail, even the gown.”

Noble adds: “The fact that she remembered meant so much to us. To think with everything that she had seen and done in 50 years, she had enough of a memory of us.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article

Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.

New to The Independent?

Or if you would prefer:

Want an ad-free experience?

Hi {{indy.fullName}}

  • My Independent Premium
  • Account details
  • Help centre

The Queen of travel

Queen Elizabeth II 1926 - 2022

Queen Elizabeth II leaves Fiji during a royal tour in February 1977. Serge Lemoine/Getty Images

The Queen of travel Journeys of a lifetime

By Francesca Street and Mark Oliver, CNN September 13, 2022

S he was traveling the moment she ascended to the throne, and for much of the next seven decades, Queen Elizabeth II criss-crossed the world. Newly married and still just a princess, Britain’s future monarch was in Kenya with husband Prince Philip in February 1952 when she learned of her father’s death and her new regal status.

During her reign she would visit more than 120 countries, witnessing first-hand the revolutions in global travel that shrank the world as her own influence over it diminished.

The Queen lived through the advent of the Jet Age, flew supersonic on the Concorde, saw regimes change, countries form and dissolve, the end of the British Empire and the rise of globalization.

Here are some of the most memorable travel moments from her 70 years as monarch.

November 24-25, 1953

Less than six months after she was crowned at Westminster Abbey in London, Queen Elizabeth set off on her travels again. Her debut official state trip was an epic six-month tour of the Commonwealth -- the alliance of nations which were once British colonies. Traveling by air, sea and land she visited several countries, accompanied by her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. First stop was the North Atlantic island of Bermuda, a British territory she would visit a further four times during her reign. The trip would go on to include stops in Jamaica, Tonga, New Zealand, Australia, Cocos Islands, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Aden (now part of Yemen), Uganda, Malta and Gibraltar.

December 19-20, 1953

At Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in June 1953, Queen Salote Tupou III of the Polynesian kingdom of Tonga won over the British public when she sat, rain-soaked, in her open carriage. They also took an interest when Elizabeth returned the visit later in the year. The two queens enjoyed an open-air feast, watched Tongan dancers and admired a tortoise that legend said was presented by explorer Captain James Cook to the King of Tonga in 1777.

December 23, 1953 – January 30, 1954

New zealand.

The Queen voyaged to New Zealand during the Antipodean summer of 1953-4. Over the course of the trip, it’s estimated that three out of every four New Zealanders got a glimpse of her. In preparation for the Queen’s visit, some New Zealand sheep were dyed in the UK flag colors of red, white and blue. The Queen returned to the country nine times over the years, including in 2002 as she marked half a century on the throne.

April 10-21, 1954

Ceylon (now sri lanka).

A visit to Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, coincided with the Queen’s 28th birthday. She visited the city of Colombo where crowds joined together to sing her “Happy Birthday.” She also visited the central city of Kandy, where she watched a procession featuring a reported 140 elephants and met local chiefs.

April 8-11, 1957

The Queen had visited France as a young princess, but her first state visit as monarch was a glamorous affair. She attended the Palais Garnier opera house in Paris, visited the Palace of Versailles, and dined at the Louvre with then-President Rene Coty. The Queen also laid a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe and visited the Scottish Church of Paris.

October 17-20, 1957

United states.

Having met President Harry S. Truman in Washington in 1951 during a visit before ascending to the throne, Elizabeth was no stranger to America when she arrived on her first trip as Queen. Her 1957 visit marked the 350th anniversary of the first permanent British settlement on the continent, in Jamestown. The monarch attended a college football game at the former Byrd Stadium in Maryland where she watched the home team lose to North Carolina. She met with President Dwight D. Eisenhower in the White House and later traveled to New York, where she and Prince Philip drove through the streets and admired panoramic views of the city from the Empire State Building.

February 1-16, 1961

The Queen and Prince Philip visited Pakistan in 1961, arriving in the port city of Karachi after completing a visit to India as part of a wider tour of South Asia. She drove through the streets of Karachi in an open-top car, before going on to visit Lahore, where a torchlight military tattoo took place in her honor and Prince Philip played in a game of polo.

February 26 to March 1, 1961

In Nepal, the Queen inspected troops in Kathmandu and met Gurkha ex-servicemen in Pokhara. The monarch rode on an elephant and visited the Hanuman Dhoka Palace complex in Kathmandu. She took part in the rather grim spectacle of a tiger hunt although didn’t shoot any animals herself. She instead recorded the experience on cine camera – a recording device that she often carried with her on her earlier foreign trips.

March 2-6, 1961

The Queen visited pre-revolution Iran at the end of her 1961 South Asian tour. Hosted by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, she toured ancient monuments including the ruins of Persepolis, once a capital of the Achaemenid Empire, later declared a World Heritage Site. She also saw Sheikh Lotfollah mosque in Esfahan and admired collections of the Archaeological Museum of Iran.

May 5, 1961

Vatican city.

In 1961, Elizabeth became the first British monarch to visit the Vatican. Dressed all in black, the Queen had an audience with Pope John XXIII, also attended by Prince Philip. She returned to the Vatican three more times during her reign, meeting Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis.

November 9-20, 1961

Bombing incidents in the capital Accra left officials worried about the safety of the Queen’s visit to Ghana but, after deliberation, UK Prime Minister Harold Macmillan confirmed it would go ahead. During the trip, the Queen famously shared a dance with Ghana’s then-president, Kwame Nkrumah. At the height of Cold War uncertainty, this seemingly innocuous moment was seen as significant in ensuring Ghana remained affiliated to Britain and not the USSR.

May 18-28, 1965

West germany (now germany).

The Queen’s visit to West Germany and West Berlin was viewed as a symbolic gesture of goodwill in the post-World War II landscape. It was the first royal trip to German territory for more than 50 years and photographs such as one of the Queen and Prince Philip in a car driving past the Brandenburg Gate had symbolic resonance.

November 5-11, 1968

Queen Elizabeth became the first reigning British monarch to visit South America when she landed in Brazil in late 1968. During the trip, the Queen wore a striking jewelry set made of Brazilian aquamarine, gifted to her in 1953 by the Brazilian president and added to over time. The monarch also attended a football match between Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, and presented the winner’s trophy to Brazilian footballer Pele.

October 18-25, 1971

On the first of two trips to Turkey -- the second took place in 2008 -- the Queen visited the Gallipoli peninsula to remember the Allied soldiers who died there during World War I. The monarch also explored the ruins of the ancient Greek empire city of Ephesus. A media highlight of the visit came when she was photographed leaping ashore from a barge, after disembarking from her ship, the Royal Yacht Britannia.

February 10-15, 1972

Accompanied by Prince Philip and daughter Princess Anne, the Queen was greeted on arrival in Bangkok by a carpet of flower petals. The monarch was given a golden key to the city of Bangkok, attended a state banquet and visited Bang Pa-In Palace, the Thai royal family’s summer residence, north of the capital.

October 17-21, 1972

The Queen’s visit to Yugoslavia was her first trip to a communist country. The Central European country no longer exists -- the areas that the Queen visited are now part of Croatia. During her trip, she met Yugoslav political leader Josip Broz Tito and traveled on his famous Blue Train.

February 15-16, 1974

New hebrides (now vanuatu).

The Queen and Prince Philip visited the Pacific island archipelago of Vanuatu, then known as the New Hebrides, in 1974. It’s said the royal couple’s visit to Vanuatu may have strengthened the belief among some locals on Tanna island that the Duke of Edinburgh was a divine being.

February 24-March 1, 1975

On her first of two visits to Mexico, the Queen toured ancient sites -- including the pyramids of Uxmal, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The monarch also received local crafts, met school children and attended a banquet. While she was driven through Mexico City, the Queen was showered in confetti.

February 17-20, 1979

Saudi arabia.

In 1979, the Queen became the first female head of state to visit Saudi Arabia, on a tour of Gulf States. At Riyadh Airport, she was met by King Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, pictured. The outfits she wore on the trip were carefully designed in accordance with Saudi Arabia’s conservative dress code for women. The Queen arrived on a British Airways supersonic Concorde aircraft and during the visit attended camel races and toured the National Museum.

October 26-27, 1982

The Queen visited Tuvalu, a group of nine islands in the South Pacific, in 1982. Upon arrival, the Queen and Prince Philip were carried in a flower-filled canoe from sea to shore. Thirty years later, in 2012, Prince William visited Tuvalu with his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, who drank a coconut from a tree planted by Queen Elizabeth on this 1982 visit.

February 26 – March 6, 1983

On a star-studded trip to the United States, the Queen toured the 20th Century-Fox studios in Hollywood with then-First Lady Nancy Reagan and met Frank Sinatra, who she’d previously met in the 1950s, at a party given in her honor. The Queen and Prince Philip also visited Yosemite National Park in California, pictured.

November 10-14, 1983

The Queen returned to Kenya in 1983 for a state visit. When she was there 31 years previously, she'd learned that her father had passed away and she had become Britain’s reigning monarch. In 1983, the Queen and Prince Philip revisited the Treetops hotel, pictured, where they were staying at the time she was told the news.

October 12-18, 1986

The Queen’s trip to China was the first -- and, so far, only -- state visit by a British monarch to China. With Prince Philip by her side, the Queen visited the Great Wall of China, pictured, as well as the Forbidden City in Beijing.

October 17-20, 1994

In 1994, in another royal first, the Queen visited Russia. Over the three-day trip, the Queen met Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov, pictured here with the monarch outside St Basil’s Cathedral, as well as Russian President Boris Yeltsin. The Queen also attended the Bolshoi Ballet. In her traditional Christmas Day speech broadcast later that year, the Queen reflected on how times had changed, noting she “never thought it would be possible in [her] lifetime” to attend a service in Moscow’s famous cathedral.

March 19-25, 1995

South africa.

In 1994, after apartheid ended, South Africa rejoined the Commonwealth as a republic. The following year, the Queen traveled there, in a visit designed to renew ties between the two countries. The Queen met with President Nelson Mandela, pictured, and presented him with the Order of Merit.

October 12-18, 1997

The Queen visited India for the third time in 1997, her first public engagement since Princess Diana’s funeral just weeks before. The trip marked 50 years since India’s independence from Britain. Most memorably, the monarch visited the site of the Amritsar massacre, also known as the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, of April 13, 1919. She also expressed regret at a state banquet in New Delhi for the “distressing” episode in which British soldiers gunned down hundreds of unarmed civilians. The gesture was seen by some as inadequate. “The Queen is doing everything she can to make India like her. But so far it does not seem to be working,” wrote the UK’s Independent newspaper at the time.

October 4-15, 2002

The Queen visited Canada many times. In 2002, her trip to the North American country coincided with her Golden Jubilee festivities, celebrating 50 years of her reign. During the trip, the Queen attended an ice hockey game between the Vancouver Canucks and the San Jose Sharks, and dropped the ceremonial puck.

March 11-16, 2006

The Queen visited Australia 16 times as Head of State. In 2006, she traveled to Melbourne to open the Commonwealth Games. She was greeted by a welcoming party in Canberra, visited the Sydney Opera House, attended a Commonwealth Day service in St. Andrew’s Cathedral and toured Admiralty House, the Sydney residence of the Governor-General of Australia.

May 17-20, 2011

The Queen’s trip to Dublin was the first time a British monarch had set foot in the Irish Republic since its 1922 independence. At Dublin Castle the Queen delivered a well-received speech on the history of Anglo-Irish relations. In County Tipperary, she also toured the medieval Rock of Cashel, pictured, once a seat of power for Ireland’s ancient kings.

November 26-28, 2015

From 1949 to 1951, before she was Queen, Elizabeth and Prince Philip lived in Malta. In 2015, the monarch paid her last visit to the island, touring the Grand Harbour in a Maltese fishing boat and waving to members of the British Royal Navy.

United Kingdom

In the later years of her reign, the Queen cut back on foreign travel, passing on the mantle to the younger royals. In more recent years, royal tours have also been looked at with more skeptical eyes, as Britain reckons with its colonial past.

While she didn't travel abroad in the later years of her reign, the Queen continued to vacation in the UK. Most notably, the Queen’s ties with Scotland remained strong throughout her reign and her residence there, Balmoral Castle, was a favorite refuge. It was at Balmoral that the Queen died on September 8, 2022.

Premium Content

Queen Elizabeth sits in Buckingham Palace

  • HISTORY MAGAZINE

Queen Elizabeth II: A lifetime of devotion and service

The funeral of Britain's longest-ruling monarch concludes a life exemplified by a personal motto of "I serve."

Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch died on September 8, setting off a series of well-planned events to mark her passing. The culmination of these events is the state funeral at Westminster Abbey on Monday and her subsequent interment at King George VI Memorial Chapel at Windsor Castle. The people of the United Kingdom and leaders from around the world will gather in London to pay their respects to the late queen and bid a final farewell.

The beginning of an era

Queen Elizabeth II sat at her desk, undertaking her first duties as monarch. Just hours before, she had been Elizabeth Windsor; now she was queen of the United Kingdom, head of the Commonwealth of Nations, and sovereign of the Commonwealth realms.

Taken in 1952, the queen sat for this portrait just days after the 25-year-old began her reign.

It was 1952, and she was in mourning. But despite her grief, the young queen shouldered her new responsibility with grace—and her signature stiff upper lip. “She was sitting erect, fully accepting her destiny,” her private secretary later recalled. When he asked her which name she would reign under, she said “My own, of course.”

Over the seven decades that followed, Queen Elizabeth II would leave an unmistakable impression on her nation and the rest of the world. Her road to the throne was a twisted one; her reign beset by crises and social cataclysms. But her destiny was to rule through triumph and sorrow, conflict and almost unthinkable change. Along the way, she would become the longest-ruling British monarch—linking past and present and emerging as an indelible figure on the world stage.

Elizabeth’s parents, “Bertie” and Elizabeth, hold her in 1926 after her christening.

A twist of royal fate

Born in London on April 21, 1926, Elizabeth was the granddaughter of a king and daughter of a duke—the newest member of the House of Windsor. Despite her royal pedigree, Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary didn’t seem destined to the British throne. She was third in line to the monarchy, but it was widely assumed that her uncle Edward would become king, marry, and produce royal heirs of his own. History had other plans for Elizabeth.

When she was nine years old, her uncle took the throne as Edward VIII according to plan. Less than a year later he abdicated, abandoning the throne to marry Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American socialite. Elizabeth’s father would become king, and suddenly Elizabeth was next in line to helm Britain’s hereditary monarchy.

Princess Elizabeth rides with her uncle, the future Edward VIII, at Balmoral Castle in 1933.

The lonely princess

Elizabeth had been raised quietly along with her younger sister, Princess Margaret. But when she became heir to the throne, her future reign indelibly shaped young Elizabeth’s life. Privately educated in Buckingham Palace and overseen by a beloved governess, she was tutored in her future duties by leading scholars and in religion by the archbishop of Canterbury. She learned from her father, too: Shy, stuttering George VI nonetheless addressed his people regularly and insisted on staying in London during the Blitz of World War II.

Elizabeth was a lonely but dutiful young girl—one biographer noted that her loud cries during her christening as a baby were “the last recorded instance of her surrendering to anything like a tantrum.” But the war opened up her horizons.

Princesses Margaret and Elizabeth (right) peek out of a carriage window after their parents’ coronation in 1937.

In 1940, she made her first public speech at age 14, addressing children who had been separated from their parents during the war. “We children at home are full of cheerfulness and courage,” she said. “We are trying . . . to bear our own share of the danger and sadness of war.”

Love and war

The princess (farthest right) was a member of a unique Girl Guide troop, the Buckingham Palace Guide Company.

The teenage princess took part in the war effort in another way, too. In 1945, Elizabeth made history when she became the first woman in the royal family to serve full-time in Britain’s military as a truck driver and mechanic. When the war ended later that year, she wore her uniform and slipped into the celebrating crowds, blending in with the revelers as she basked in the joy and relief of peace.

By then, the seeds of what would become a seven-decade romance had been sown. Elizabeth and Margaret spent much of World War II at Windsor Castle. Elizabeth’s third cousin, Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark often stayed there when he was on leave from the Royal Navy. After the war, their relationship bloomed.

The dashing, blunt prince—who was exiled to England as an infant amid political strife in Greece and became naturalized as Philip Mountbatten in 1947—was an unlikely match for the reserved queen-to-be. He was relatively poor and seemingly rootless, his childhood marked by instability and trauma. But Elizabeth was captivated, reportedly falling in love at age 13. “She had a protective shell around her, and he brought her out of it,” said one observer. They married in Westminster Abbey on November 20, 1947.

Elizabeth and Philip, Prince of Greece and Denmark, married in 1947.

The young queen

As a young wife and mother—Charles III was born in 1948 and Princess Anne followed in 1950—Elizabeth began to step into her aging father’s shoes. In 1952, she undertook a world tour in King George VI’s stead. During a brief getaway with Philip in Kenya, word arrived that her father had died. The 25-year-old was now a queen.

Elizabeth II, Britain’s 61st monarch, would reign over a vast empire and serve as head of the Church of England. At the time of her accession, Britain had more than 70 territories overseas. She was sovereign and head of state of the Commonwealth realms, including Canada and Australia, and the second Head of the Commonwealth of the Commonwealth of Nations, an association of sovereign states mostly linked to the United Kingdom through a history of British colonial rule. But her role was mostly symbolic: Though technically head of state and church, under the United Kingdom’s constitutional monarchy she possessed no ability to pass or enforce laws and was responsible for serving as a national figurehead, not a politician.

Three generations of queens—(from left) the newly minted Elizabeth II, Queen Mary, and Elizabeth the Queen Mother—mourn George VI together in 1952.

Elizabeth considered her responsibility as monarch a sacred duty. “I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong,” she said in a radio address on her 21st birthday, when her father was still king. She would spend the rest of her life living up to that promise.

A glittering coronation

As she mourned her father and acclimated to life as queen, Elizabeth prepared for perhaps the most memorable of the many royal appearances she was to make during her long life: Her coronation, held in Westminster Abbey in June 1953, hewed to time-honored tradition.

The day of the ceremony, the demure young queen, wearing an elaborate white satin dress, took a carriage from Buckingham Palace to the abbey. Inside the abbey, she was blessed and anointed with oil, decked with royal robes, and given a scepter and an orb.

Elizabeth's 1953 coronation is pictured with the queen on a throne holding two scepters

Finally, after a nearly five-pound crown studded with jewels was placed on her head, she received the homage of the royal family and the peerage. Prince Philip was the first to kneel before her, pledging to be her “liege man of life and limb.”

Admiring subjects lined the streets of London to celebrate. They weren’t the only ones to take in the grandeur—at the queen’s insistence, television cameras were allowed inside the church for the first time, and the coronation was broadcast live. An estimated three-quarters of the population of Britain, more than 20 million people, tuned in for the ceremony, and millions more watched from other countries. Her coronation was the world’s first must-see television event and ushered in a new, modern monarchy.

Her changing empire

The British Empire of the queen’s forebears was changing rapidly as countries asserted their independence in the postwar years. Elizabeth continued to serve as constitutional monarch of a growing number of Commonwealth realms. And as head of the Commonwealth of Nations, she presided over a loose group of mostly former British colonies that had abandoned their colonial relationships with Britain.

The queen disembarks from a yacht on her visit to Fiji in 1958.

After the coronation, Elizabeth and Philip embarked on an unprecedented tour of the Commonwealth. During the trip, the pair traveled more than 40,000 miles and visited 13 countries. It was the first time a reigning monarch had visited either Australia or New Zealand.

The Commonwealth would become one of Elizabeth’s most enduring projects. She embraced the association’s diversity and fostered close relationships with its leaders. The Commonwealth “bears no resemblance to the Empires of the past,” she said. “It is an entirely new conception, built on the highest qualities of the spirit of man: friendship, loyalty, and the desire for freedom and peace. To that new conception of an equal partnership of nations and races I shall give myself heart and soul every day of my life.”

Royal duties

A busy travel schedule made up just part of the queen’s royal duties. Though the British sovereign must remain externally neutral on matters of state, they retain the right to appoint prime ministers and call a general election. Although those duties are usually no more than ceremonial, they remain a key part of protocol. Monarchs can also advise—or be advised by—their prime ministers.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill, shown here conversing with Elizabeth, Charles, and Anne in 1953, shared a special relationship with the queen.

During her weekly visits with Prime Minister Winston Churchill in her first years as queen, Elizabeth received his tutelage and shared in his notorious sense of fun. Her private secretary recalled hearing “peals of laughter” during their audiences, and the queen wrote that she was “profoundly grateful” for his guidance during her first years as sovereign.

A “priggish schoolgirl”

Despite her outward neutrality, the queen had her detractors—and soon learned that, in times of national strife, the monarchy could be harshly criticized. The first gauntlet came after the Suez Crisis, Britain’s disastrous, short-lived invasion of Egypt in 1956. The brief fiasco resulted in a decline in the U.K.’s global status and fueled a political and economic crisis.

You May Also Like

queen elizabeth visits to united states

What happens now that Queen Elizabeth II has passed?

queen elizabeth visits to united states

Decoded secret letters reveal royal plot against Queen Elizabeth I

queen elizabeth visits to united states

Why Elizabeth II was modern Britain’s most unlikely queen

After Anthony Eden, the prime minister who had given the invasion the green light, resigned, Elizabeth came under fire for relying on the advice of an insular group of royal insiders in choosing Eden’s successor. In 1957, Lord Altrincham, the influential editor of the National and English Review, published sharp criticism of Elizabeth and her “tweedy” advisers. Then he launched into a personal attack on the queen herself, complaining about everything from her voice to her “priggish schoolgirl” demeanor.

The queen works late at night with her private secretary in 1972 aboard her luxury yacht Britannia.

The criticism—and the debate it generated—prompted the queen to make lasting changes. Though the queen kept the monarch’s prerogative to appoint prime ministers, she would defer to political parties’ choice of prime minister for the rest of her life. And, in a nod toward equality, the queen eventually did away with the custom of presenting upper-crust debutantes at court, a long-standing tradition seen by some as evidence of a privilege unfairly extended to an elite minority.

A troubled nation

British society was changing and so was the monarchy. During her reign, Elizabeth faced a seemingly endless parade of crises, from economic malaise in the 1970s and 1980s to the international woes of Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic in the 21st century. But some events hit closer to home than others.

The queen somberly tours the devastation in Aberfan, Wales, along with Prince Philip, in 1966.

One such event was the Aberfan mine disaster in 1966, a landslide in which 144 people, many of them schoolchildren, were killed. After refusing to visit the Welsh community until more than a week after the incident, Elizabeth faced deep criticism for what some saw as leaving her subjects in the lurch. The queen reportedly considered her bungled response to the disaster to be the biggest regret of her reign.

The Troubles, a three-decades-long conflict between nationalists and unionists in Northern Ireland, was another crucible. The violence left more than 3,600 dead and more than 30,000 injured. The Troubles also touched Elizabeth personally: Her second cousin Lord Louis Mountbatten was assassinated by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in 1979. It would take until 2011 for Elizabeth to make an official state visit to the Republic of Ireland, where she offered her sympathy to the victims of the Troubles. Despite her words—the closest a member of the Royal Family ever came to apologizing for Britain’s reprisals during the conflict—tensions continued to simmer in Northern Ireland, especially in the throes of Brexit, which threatened trade between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Pomp and circumstance

Accompanied by her loyal liege Prince Philip, the queen prepares for the 2007 State Opening of Parliament, an event she rarely missed.

As a mother of four—Prince Andrew was born in 1960 and Prince Edward in 1964—the queen hewed carefully to her symbolic duties. Every year, she presided at the State Opening of Parliament, delivering a speech to the assembled members of the Houses of Commons and Lords. (During her reign she missed only three appearances; twice while pregnant with her younger sons and once in 2022 as concerns for her health increased.)

State events were filled with pitfalls of procedure and etiquette. But for the queen, there was a practical annoyance: the weight of her nearly five-pound Imperial State Crown. “You can’t look down to read the speech, you have to take the speech up. Because if you did, your neck would break—it would fall off,” she told the BBC in a 2018 documentary. “So there are some disadvantages to crowns, but otherwise they’re quite important things.” As the queen aged, she began wearing a lighter-weight diadem to Parliament instead.

Elizabeth dines in luxury on her royal yacht in 1972.

Another tradition was the royal Christmas message, a speech broadcast first by radio, then by television to a worldwide audience. During the annual messages, which her grandfather first instituted, Elizabeth offered thanks and encouragement to the people of the Commonwealth and commented on the most pressing issues of the time.

The queen stands alone during a visit to the United States in 1957.

And then there were the jubilees—anniversary celebrations of the queen’s ever lengthening rule. The queen would often travel throughout the Commonwealth of Nations during jubilee years, and she used the jubilee celebrations as chances to greet her subjects and focus on the unity and progress of her nation and the Commonwealth.

In 1969, she presided over a very personal ceremony: the investiture of her oldest son, Charles, as Prince of Wales. As her son knelt before her at Caernarfon Castle, she placed a jewel-studded coronet on his head and presented him to the Welsh people as their prince.

Family matters

Over the years, the queen survived multiple assassination attempts. But those were arguably less traumatic than the family conflicts that rocked her personal life and shook public confidence in the monarchy.

The family poses for a picture at Balmoral in honor of Elizabeth and Philip’s silver wedding anniversary in 1972.

The queen’s sister, Princess Margaret, caused a furor when tabloids published photos of her cavorting with her lover in 1976. Though Margaret’s subsequent divorce scandalized the family, Elizabeth gave it her blessing. It was just a preview of the strife to come.

The fallout of the tempestuous marriage and separation of Charles III and Princess Diana led Elizabeth to refer to 1992 as her “annus horribilis,” a year that also included a catastrophic fire at Windsor Castle, the divorce of Princess Anne, and the separation of Prince Andrew and his wife, Sarah.

Patrons get a pub’s-eye view of the queen’s much-scrutinized remarks at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997.

When Diana died in a tragic car crash while being pursued by paparazzi in 1997, her former mother-in-law was condemned for her seeming lack of emotion. But in private, the queen expressed her grief, writing to a friend that Diana’s death was “dreadfully sad.” In the aftermath, she protected and cared for her grandsons, Prince William and Prince Harry.

A stiff upper lip

Elizabeth’s troubles didn’t end then. Her son Prince Andrew was linked to infamous American financier Jeffrey Epstein and accused of sexually assaulting a minor Epstein had allegedly trafficked. Under increasing public pressure and after a widely criticized television interview in which Prince Andrew downplayed Epstein’s actions and denied any wrongdoing, he stepped down from public life in November 2019 and returned his royal patronages and military titles to the queen in January 2022.

Four generations of Windsors were present at the 2018 wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.

In January 2020, Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, announced they would step back from the royal family and become financially independent. They also alleged that Meghan, who is biracial, had received racist treatment from members of the royal inner circle. Though the couple’s retreat to the United States reportedly came as a blow to the queen, the monarch retained a relationship with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex from afar and was said to have been “overjoyed” that the pair named their second child Lilibet.

Another blow came in 2021, when Philip, the longest-serving royal consort in British history, died at age 99. Images of the queen sitting alone at her husband’s funeral, which was kept small to conform with the British government’s coronavirus-era restrictions, vividly illustrated the queen’s loss. But through it all, she presented a placid face to the world.

Due to strict COVID-19 protocols, Queen Elizabeth bids a lonely farewell to Prince Philip at his funeral in 2021.

Intensely private though she was, the queen was also known to be warm and witty. She doted on her corgis and relished her summer retreats to Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where she could go on long walks and picnics, drive her Range Rover, and visit with her royal ponies. A committed horsewoman, she was a fixture at horse shows and races and could be spotted in the saddle into her 90s.

Elizabeth finds peace on the sprawling grounds of Balmoral Estate, where she often relaxed with hikes, drives, and dogs.

But for the woman who committed to serving her country at the age of just 25, her country was never far from her thoughts. She remained active and involved in public events into her mid-90s and never turned away from her responsibilities as queen. “These are the things that, at her age, she shouldn’t be doing, yet she’s carrying on and doing them,” her grandson Prince Harry said in a 2012 interview. So, what did the resilient queen make of her own boundary-breaking life? She reportedly joked, “I have to be seen to be believed.”

Elizabeth could find the humor in her complicated destiny. And for those who loved her—her millions of subjects, her loving family, and her fans around the world—she was much more than a figurehead. “In the days when it was a man’s world, it was very difficult for her to . . . make a difference,” her grandson Prince William said in a 2019 interview. “And she’s done it. In her own very unique, distinct way.”

To the end, she retained the calm resolve of the young woman who accepted her royal fate so many years before—a life of duty and service, accomplished as no one but Elizabeth could.

Tweed, kilts, and corgis are the order of the day at Balmoral Castle, where the monarch takes a royal stroll in 1967.

Related Topics

queen elizabeth visits to united states

How National Geographic photographed Queen Elizabeth II

queen elizabeth visits to united states

Queen Elizabeth I's rule set a golden legacy for Britain

queen elizabeth visits to united states

Britain’s first Black queen? The real story of Queen Charlotte

queen elizabeth visits to united states

Exclusive: See rare photos of Queen Elizabeth II from National Geographic's archives

queen elizabeth visits to united states

Queen Elizabeth owns most of the U.K. seabed. That's slowing conservation work.

  • Environment

History & Culture

  • History & Culture
  • History Magazine
  • Race in America
  • Mind, Body, Wonder
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • About Nielsen Measurement
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Nat Geo Home
  • Attend a Live Event
  • Book a Trip
  • Inspire Your Kids
  • Shop Nat Geo
  • Visit the D.C. Museum
  • Learn About Our Impact
  • Support Our Mission
  • Advertise With Us
  • Customer Service
  • Renew Subscription
  • Manage Your Subscription
  • Work at Nat Geo
  • Sign Up for Our Newsletters
  • Contribute to Protect the Planet

Copyright © 1996-2015 National Geographic Society Copyright © 2015-2024 National Geographic Partners, LLC. All rights reserved

queen elizabeth visits to united states

  • History Classics
  • Your Profile
  • Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
  • Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
  • Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window)
  • Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window)
  • Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window)
  • This Day In History
  • History Podcasts
  • History Vault

This Day In History : June 7

Changing the day will navigate the page to that given day in history. You can navigate days by using left and right arrows

King George VI becomes the first British monarch to visit the U.S.

queen elizabeth visits to united states

King George VI becomes the first reigning British monarch to visit the United States when he and his wife, Elizabeth, cross the Canadian-U.S. border to Niagara Falls , New York. The royal couple subsequently visited New York City and Washington, D.C., where they called for a greater U.S. role in resolving the crisis in Europe. On June 12, they returned to Canada, where they embarked on their voyage home.

George, who studied at Dartmouth Naval College and served in World War I , ascended to the throne after his elder brother, King Edward VIII, abdicated on December 11, 1936. Edward, who was the first English monarch to voluntarily relinquish the English throne, agreed to give up his title in the face of widespread criticism of his desire to marry Wallis Warfield Simpson , an American divorcee.

During World War II , King George worked to keep up British morale by visiting bombed areas and touring war zones. George and Elizabeth also remained in bomb-damaged Buckingham Palace during the war, shunning the relative safety of the countryside, and George made a series of important morale-boosting radio broadcasts, for which he overcame a speech impediment.

After the war, the royal family visited South Africa, but a planned tour of Australia and New Zealand had to be postponed indefinitely when the king fell ill in 1949. Despite his illness, he continued to perform state duties until his death in 1952. He was succeeded by his first-born daughter, who was crowned Queen Elizabeth II in June 1953.

Also on This Day in History June | 7

Texas passes a bill becoming the first state in the nation to make juneteenth an official state holiday.

queen elizabeth visits to united states

This Day in History Video: What Happened on June 7

Michael skakel convicted of 1975 murder in greenwich, battle of midway ends, gandhi’s first act of civil disobedience, switzerland welcomes first drive-through bank.

queen elizabeth visits to united states

Wake Up to This Day in History

Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. Get all of today's events in just one email featuring a range of topics.

By submitting your information, you agree to receive emails from HISTORY and A+E Networks. You can opt out at any time. You must be 16 years or older and a resident of the United States.

More details : Privacy Notice | Terms of Use | Contact Us

First successful ascent of Denali

Ronald reagan nominated for governor of california, chief seattle dies near the city named for him, “new york” magazine publishes the story that becomes “saturday night fever”, actress jean harlow dies, earthquake destroys jamaican town, lee resolution presented to continental congress.

IMAGES

  1. Queen Elizabeth's visits to the United States, in pictures

    queen elizabeth visits to united states

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

    queen elizabeth visits to united states

  3. Queen Elizabeth II Photos–How America Welcomed a Young Ruler

    queen elizabeth visits to united states

  4. Here's How Every Meeting Between the Queen and a U.S. President Went

    queen elizabeth visits to united states

  5. Photos: A look back at Queen Elizabeth II's visit to California in 1983

    queen elizabeth visits to united states

  6. Queen Elizabeth II makes first U.N. speech since 1957

    queen elizabeth visits to united states

COMMENTS

  1. Queen Elizabeth's visits to the United States, in pictures

    By Danielle Paquette | Sep 10, 2022. During her seven-decade reign, Queen Elizabeth II visited more than two dozen cities across the United States. She chatted with Girl Scouts, football players ...

  2. This Is How Many Times Queen Elizabeth Has Visited America

    Queen Elizabeth has managed to charm every American president. Queen Elizabeth's last three visits to the United States came in 1983 to visit President Ronald Reagan at his California ranch; in 1991, when she met with George H.W. Bush and planted a tree on the South Lawn of the White House; and finally in 2007, when the queen commemorated the ...

  3. How Many Times Has Queen Elizabeth Visited America?

    Queen Elizabeth II visited the United States six times. David Levenson/Getty Images. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip made six visits total to the United States, according to The Newport Daily ...

  4. Queen Elizabeth II and the White House

    Beginning in 1951, Queen Elizabeth II cultivated a seventy-year friendship with the White House, visiting the United States several times as both princess and queen. Her visits have included four State Visits, five State Dinners, and two unofficial visits during her reign. In seventy years, Queen Elizabeth II participated in many important ...

  5. Queen Elizabeth's many royal visits to America

    Over her 70 year reign, Queen Elizabeth II made several visits to the United States, bolstering the alliance between both countries. (Sept. 9)Subscribe for m...

  6. Photos of British Royal Family's Visits to the U.S. Over the Years

    The royal family has been visiting the United States for over 80 years now, touching lives in states across the nation along the way. ... On a state visit in 1959, Queen Elizabeth and Prince ...

  7. Queen Elizabeth II Visited Boston One Time. Here's What She Did.

    In her long time on the throne of the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth II visited Boston once, for an event marking a very crucial event in American history. For her third visit to the United States, Elizabeth attended the Bicentennial ceremonies in 1976, and ended her trip where the country began: in Boston. Images from the time show her smiling…

  8. PHOTOS: Looking Back at Queen Elizabeth's Visits to DC

    Over the course of her life, Queen Elizabeth II made a number of visits to the DC area, starting as a princess in 1951. Here, we take a look at some photos from the Queen's time in DC, such as visiting for the United States Bicentennial in 1976 and the 400-year anniversary of the Jamestown Settlement in 2007, attending college football games in Maryland, and planting trees on the White House ...

  9. The White House and Queen Elizabeth II

    During the visit, the queen also planted a commemorative tree, a Little-Leaf Linden, on the South Lawn. Royal Visit, 2007: President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush hosted Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip when she visited the United States and the White House in 2007. This visit, similar to her visit in 1957, celebrated the 400th ...

  10. Queen Elizabeth II: The Royal Visits

    Queen Elizabeth II and the Anniversary Visits 1976 and 2007 by Alan Capps. Presented in the Tradition of Goodwill Between Nations: Gifts Exchanged by Queen Elizabeth II and the Presidents of the United States by Sally Goodsir. Julia Child Goes Behind the Scenes at the White House, As Dinner Is Prepared for Queen Elizabeth II by Alex Prud'homme.

  11. 'One of my favorite people': What Queen Elizabeth II meant to ...

    George W. Bush: Bush visited Britain on an official state visit in 2003, and the Queen went to the United States in 2007 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown. During his ...

  12. NYC and Queen Elizabeth II: How Many Times Did She Visit?

    Take a look at Queen Elizabeth's visits to the tri-state area over the years. ... Queen Elizabeth ll greets a jazz musician in New York during a State Visit to the United States on July 09, 1976 ...

  13. Queen Elizabeth makes first visit to U.S., Oct. 17, 1958

    On this day in 1957, Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, made their first state visit to the United States. The 31-year-old monarch was greeted at the White House by President ...

  14. The Visit of Queen Elizabeth II : NPR

    England's Queen Elizabeth II is in the midst of a six-day state visit to the United States to commemorate the 400-year anniversary of the settlement of Jamestown, Va. This is the queen's first ...

  15. Queen Elizabeth II 'floored' Americans during final visit to US in 2007

    Powered by automated translation. Queen Elizabeth II left a lasting impression on Americans during her final visit to the US, given her grace, confidence and ability to wear heels on rocky ground. The late monarch and her husband Prince Philip embarked on a six-day tour in 2007 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the establishment of the ...

  16. List of state visits made by Elizabeth II

    2 visits. 1 visit. Presentation of a book of the Six Decades of H.M. The Queen's Commonwealth and State Visits, 18 December 2012. Queen Elizabeth II undertook a number of state and official visits over her 70-year reign (1952 to 2022), [1] as well as trips throughout the Commonwealth, making her the most widely travelled head of state in history.

  17. Ten Times the British Royals Visited the U.S. in Style

    The couple became the first reigning British monarchs to visit the United States. ... Queen Elizabeth II's last official visit to the U.S. came in 2007 where she was hosted by President George W ...

  18. Queen Elizabeth II

    To celebrate the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh visited the United States and were hosted for a State Dinner by President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush on May 7, 2007. George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum/NARA

  19. Queen Elizabeth's long and special relationship with America

    Queen Elizabeth II - who has died aged 96 after 70 years on the throne - made six official trips to the US, including three state visits with all the pomp and ceremony that involved. She also ...

  20. The Queen's travels: Follow Elizabeth's trips through the decades

    United States. Having met President Harry S. Truman in Washington in 1951 during a visit before ascending to the throne, Elizabeth was no stranger to America when she arrived on her first trip as ...

  21. Queen and Commonwealth: The 1957 Royal Visit to Virginia

    Times-Dispatch News Bureau. WILLIAMSBURG, Oct. 16—Virginians welcomed Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip Wednesday with a booming 21-gun salute and a crowded 10-hour schedule of history, hospitality and occasionally clamorous acclamation. The royal visit to Jamestown and Williamsburg, the first ever by a reigning British monarch, was ...

  22. Queen Elizabeth II: A lifetime of devotion and service

    The queen stands alone during a visit to the United States in 1957. Photograph by Burt Glinn/Magnum Photos And then there were the jubilees—anniversary celebrations of the queen's ever ...

  23. King George VI becomes the first British monarch to visit the U.S

    King George VI becomes the first reigning British monarch to visit the United States when he and his wife, Elizabeth, cross the Canadian-U.S. border to Niagara Falls, New York. The royal couple ...

  24. Which is Quirkier: A Titanic-Themed Living Area or a Queen Elizabeth

    For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. ... A Titanic-Themed Living Area or a Queen Elizabeth Bathroom?