The White House and Queen Elizabeth II

• Royal Visit, 1951: Princess Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, arrived in Washington, D.C. on October 31, 1951. She stayed at Blair House with President Harry S. Truman and his family, as the White House was under major renovation (1948-1952). During the visit, they gave the president a seventeenth-century trumeau on behalf of King George VI of Great Britain, which has historically hung above the mantel in Queens’ Bedroom on the Second Floor.
• Royal Visit, 1957: Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, arrived in Washington, D.C. on October 17, 1957. They stayed with President Dwight D. Eisenhower and First Lady Mamie Eisenhower at the White House, and Queen Elizabeth II stayed in the Rose Bedroom while Prince Philip stayed in the Lincoln Bedroom. The visit was in part to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the first permanent English settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607. Despite inclement weather, large crowds lined the streets to greet the Queen as she traveled by motorcade from Washington National Airport to the White House, and several hundred onlookers pressed against the White House fence hoping for a closer view. After visiting Arlington National Cemetery to lay wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Canadian Cross of Sacrifice, the British guests attended a State Dinner at the White House that evening.
• Bicentennial Royal Visit, 1976: During the American Bicentennial of 1975-1976, Queen Elizabeth II visited the United States and the White House on a goodwill tour. During this visit, the royal couple were hosted by President Gerald Ford and First Lady Betty Ford for a State Dinner on July 7, 1976, in the Rose Garden. Queen Elizabeth II presented President Ford with a soup tureen that featured a painted image of the White House and Independence Hall. This and other gifts from the Royal Family to the United States were later put on exhibit in the Smithsonian Institution.
• Royal Visit, 1983: President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan hosted Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip at Rancho Del Cielo, their Santa Barbara home in the Santa Ynez mountains of California. The royal guests braved a California rainstorm to have lunch with the first couple. While the weather reminded accompanying British journalists of “Scotland on a foul day,” the lunch was more aligned with the region’s cuisine, featuring enchiladas, chiles rellenos, refried beans, tacos, rice, and guacamole. On March 3, 1983, President Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan hosted an Official Dinner for Queen Elizabeth II in San Francisco at the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum.
• Royal Visit, 1991: President George H.W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush hosted Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip for a State Dinner on May 14, 1991. 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 anniversary of the English settlement of Jamestown, Virginia. On May 7, 2007, the royal couple attended an elegant white-tie State Dinner hosted in their honor. President Bush invited that year’s winning Kentucky Derby jockey Calvin Borel, as the Queen is a renowned racing fan, and owns and breeds racehorses. During her stay, she also visited the World War II Memorial with President Bush and his father, former President George H.W. Bush—a World War II veteran.

See a photo gallery of Queen Elizabeth II's White House visits.

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