13 US presidents were introduced to Queen Elizabeth II during her 70 years as monarch. But she developed a particular fondness for one of them.
After meeting Barack Obama, with whom she fully fell in love, Tom Quinn stated in his book “Kensington Palace: An Intimate Memoir from Queen Mary to Meghan Markle,” “she has regularly asked her courtiers whether they might arrange for him to return to Britain now that he is no longer president.”
During their eight years in office, Barack and Michelle Obama made three trips to Buckingham Palace.
President Obama and the Queen had a nice first encounter when Obama arrived in the UK for the G20 conference in April 2009 and presented the Queen with a gift.
Obama recalled at the Inbound conference in Boston that the gift for the Queen raised some eyebrows.
“Leaders are met with and gifts are given. Never allow yourself to be out-gifted! I wanted her to be able to put the present to good use. The iPod had just been released, and she adored British Broadway Showtunes. Let’s acquire an iPod and load it up with British show songs, I reasoned. The British tabloids said that was very wrong, but I believe she often used it “said the former president.
It established the tone for a relationship that would go beyond the severe restrictions of convention, and the Queen would often dispense with them in favour of strengthening and savouring their bond.
At the Inbound Conference, Obama recounted another heartwarming and instructive incident about the Queen. His mother-in-law, his two kids, and he travelled to London during his second term in government.
They had no intention of seeing the Queen, but they were pleasantly surprised to be invited to tea at Buckingham Palace.
“Malia, who was eleven at the time, Sasha, who was eight, and my mother-in-law, a stay-at-home mother and a bank clerk who spent her whole life on the south side of Chicago, are now seated there with the Queen of England. She then insists on taking the girls for a lengthy ride around the Palace grounds in her golden carriage, which I assume she uses for jubilees.”
Obama praised the Queen for her kindness and sincerity. “It was never reported on any of this. It was only something quiet that she did “explained the former president.
Michelle Obama also detailed an intimate conversation she had with the Queen during their last state visit to England in 2016 in her book Becoming.
One of the Queen’s homes, Windsor Castle, was to be reached by helicopter from the US ambassador’s house in London. After meeting them on the estate, Prince Philip and the Queen would take them all back to Buckingham Palace in his car.
Not only were the occupants in the vehicle notable, but this would have been one of the very few occasions the Obamas had driven without secret service officers. As a result, the trip was meticulously organised.
However, the Queen decided against following through with that clever scheme and asked Michelle Obama if she would want to accompany her in her Land Rover instead.
Obama penned: “I stood there, trying to recall whether anybody had prepared me for this situation and if it would be more courteous to accept it or to urge that Barack take his appropriate position by her side.
“The Queen saw my hesitancy right away. and refused to accept it.
“She waved her hand in dismissal, asking, “Did they give you some rule about this?” “That is garbage. anywhere you wish to sit.”
The queen and the Obama family have a strong connection, but that doesn’t mean the Queen won’t speak out for herself.
The Queen reportedly requested that he urge then-President Obama to leave a state dinner because it was late and she wanted to get some sleep, according to former Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne.
Indeed, the 44th President affirmed the queen was a straight-talker in an homage to the Queen captured on camera for the BBC. “She took great care to ensure that her visitors at Buckingham Palace did not remain any longer than necessary. It’s time to go, she murmured, as she kept checking her watch “He remembered with laughter.
When President Obama and the former First Lady learned of the Queen’s passing, they remarked, “Michelle and I, like so many others, are humbled by Her Majesty’s legacy of selfless, honourable public service and fortunate to have watched her committed leadership. During this trying time, our thoughts are with her family and the people of the UK.”