Lost in the Stacks: Royal Audience

Thirteen presidents and just one queen. But what a queen! Ever courteous, ever composed, Queen Elizabeth charmed her way into the hearts of successive U.S. presidents. In Royal Audience, David Charter, editor of the Times of London, describes how the indomitable Queen - with handbag in tow – used canniness and warmth to strengthen what Churchill dubbed the “Special Relationship” between Britain and the United States. 

Any long-term relationship will have its ups and downs, and Anglo-American relations were no exception. The Suez Canal, the Falklands and Brexit are some examples of the trans-Atlantic partners not seeing eye to eye. But the British government had a not-so-secret weapon in their diplomatic toolbox: the Queen. Queen Elizabeth attended banquets and balls, hosted luncheons and teas, and used her warmth, wit and graciousness to smooth over any rifts with her American partner.  

Whether it was a shared scone recipe with Eisenhower or a horseback ride with Reagan, Queen Elizabeth strove to foster friendship, or at least cordial relationships, with the presidents. Starting with her first state visit to Truman as a young princess in 1951, Her Majesty forged a unique relationship with each president. Of course, some ties were closer than others (and the Queen, Charter speculates, had her favorites) but each president respected her steadfastness and skills at soft diplomacy.  

Filled with anecdotes, menus and faux pas (we Americans can’t seem to keep our hands off the Queen!), Royal Audience will delight Anglophiles and historians alike.