World Leaders Who Embarrassed Themselves In Front Of Queen Elizabeth
Many world leaders came and went during Queen Elizabeth II's 70-year reign, witnessing the monarch's most memorable quotes as well as her mischievous spirit. After Her Majesty's death in 2022, those who met her couldn't praise her enough, and the public learned plenty of things they didn't know about the late queen.
One theme constant in every tribute was the queen's kindness, with politicians across the world holding her in high regard. British Prime Minister Liz Truss called the queen "the very spirit of Great Britain" and "a personal inspiration" (via CBS News). President Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, echoed Truss' sentiments in a statement of their own. "Queen Elizabeth II was a stateswoman of unmatched dignity and constancy," they said. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese perhaps said it best, describing the queen as a "reassuring constant" throughout seven decades of continuous change.
While some members of the royal family have clashed with a few U.S. presidents in the past, Queen Elizabeth never let it show if she was displeased with a world leader. She remained diplomatic, as is expected of a monarch — even when she met with controversial President Donald Trump. Even though meetings with world leaders often seemed to go off without a hitch, there had been a few (often hilarious) instances where leaders embarrassed themselves in front of the queen. Her Majesty, ever graceful, usually broke the tension with a lighthearted joke.
Madame Yvonne de Gaulle suffered an unfortunate mispronunciation in the queen's presence
One of the funniest gaffes anyone ever suffered in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II was arguably Madame Yvonne de Gaulle, the wife of French President Charles de Gaulle. During a state visit to Buckingham Palace in 1960, Madame de Gaulle suffered a truly unfortunate mispronunciation that still causes giggles to this day.
In his book, "You Look Awfully Like the Queen: Wit and Wisdom From the House of Windsor," Thomas Blaikie has laid bare many of the humorous and somewhat embarrassing moments that have occurred behind the palace walls over the years, and he didn't spare Madame de Gaulle. While attending a banquet at Buckingham Palace during her visit, Madame de Gaulle's limited English and heavy French accent got her into a bit of a predicament.
"Somebody asked Madame de Gaulle what she was most looking forward to in her retirement, which was imminent," Blaikie recalls in his book. "Not speaking English much at all, she replied, 'A penis.' Consternation reigned for some time but it was the queen herself who came to the rescue. 'Ah, happiness,' she said." One can't fault Queen Elizabeth's ability to stay cool in ultra embarrassing moments, and this incident in particular, perhaps, is what allowed her to handle other embarrassing instances with such grace during her reign.
The Kennedys had a very awkward dinner with the queen
All might have appeared hunky-dory on the outside, but Queen Elizabeth II and Jackie Kennedy had a pretty cold relationship. The queen and President John F. Kennedy's relationship also didn't get off on the best foot. The night of their state dinner at Buckingham Palace in 1961, the queen reportedly had a hard time connecting with the president, who didn't seem all that interested in discussing current affairs with a woman. The real embarrassing moment, however, was when he and Jackie arrived at dinner only to find that two royals they wanted to meet most were not in attendance.
Apparently, the queen left those two people off the list on purpose to make a point to Jackie, who insisted that her sister and royal brother-in-law be invited to the state dinner. The only problem was that they had both been divorced more than once and the queen didn't approve. While the queen eventually relented after plenty of back and forth, she made sure to show the Kennedys who was boss on the night.
Furthermore, Jackie had wanted Princess Margaret to attend the dinner while her husband asked for Princess Marina, so the queen made sure their invitations got lost in the mail. Jackie later recounted the story to writer Gore Vidal. "The queen had her revenge. ... No Margaret, no Marina, no one except every Commonwealth minister of agriculture that they could find," Jackie recalled (via Vanity Fair).
Queen Elizabeth and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's meetings were reportedly very awkward
To this day, rumors abound that Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher did not see eye to eye. In his book "The Queen and Mrs Thatcher: An Inconvenient Relationship," Dean Palmer expanded on these rumors. "The palace thought Thatcher vulgar, and the prime minister thought royalty was irrelevant," Palmer wrote. Thatcher's love of lecturing others also reportedly didn't sit well with the queen. According to Palmer, Thatcher didn't see her weekly meetings with the queen as useful and eventually stopped trying to be fully prepared for them. She would glance at the agenda moments before meeting with the monarch, and this led to some awkward meetings with Thatcher being nervous and simply regurgitating current affairs to the queen during their meetings, according to biographer Charles Moore.
To make matters more awkward, Moore claimed the queen barely said anything in response to Thatcher's updates, making for a mind-numbingly boring and awkward meeting. While some of these meetings surely gave Thatcher's ego a bit of a knock, they also weren't pleasant to the queen. "The Queen was said to dread her weekly audience with her Prime Minister because Mrs. Thatcher was so stiff and formal," John Campbell wrote in "The Iron Lady: Margaret Thatcher, from Grocer's Daughter to Prime Minister."
George H. W. Bush forgot the queen was shorter than him
In a hilarious faux pass, President George H. W. Bush once forgot that he was taller than Queen Elizabeth II and neglected to adjust a lectern for her when she addressed a crowd right after him at the White House during a 1991 state visit. Thanks to the lectern being way too high, all that the gathered crowd and journalists could see was the queen's purple hat.
In the aftermath, news outlets referred to the moment as "the talking hat," and Bush was incredibly embarrassed by his mistake. As the queen's hat made headlines instead of her speech, Bush told reporters that he deeply regretted his mistake. "It wasn't fair to her and I'm just sorry that it was overlooked," he said (via the Mirror). His wife, Barbara Bush, was not amused by the press roasting her husband and told reporters that the incident wasn't his fault. "It was someone else's job — come on," she said.
We suspect the queen was shaking her head in dismay at the Americans taking the whole mishap so seriously, because on another day following the incident, she made some fun of the situation when she addressed Congress. "I do hope you can see me today from where you are," she quipped at the start of her speech (via Newsweek), putting a swift end to all the drama and restoring Bush's dignity.
George W. Bush forgot the queen's age
It seems that embarrassing yourself in front of the British monarch runs in the Bush family, because when George H. W. Bush's son, George W. Bush, served as America's president, he too managed to make a hilarious blunder in the monarch's presence. In a real déjà vu moment in 2007, President George W. Bush momentarily "forgot" Queen Elizabeth II's age during his welcome speech at the White House, suggesting that the queen was well over 200 years old.
"You helped our nation celebrate its bicentennial in 17 — in 1976," Bush said as chuckles rose from the crowd (via YouTube). Bush paused for a moment, looking at the queen, who was standing a few feet from him. She slowly turned her head, their eyes met, and the president winked at her. When he turned back to the crowd, he said, "She gave me a look that only a mother could give a child." Queen Elizabeth managed to mostly keep a straight face, but it might be safe to say that she, too, was chuckling on the inside, because at a dinner later on, she roasted Bush just like she did his father before him. As she made a toast, she said, "Mr. President, I wondered whether I should start this toast saying, 'When I was here in 1776,' but I don't think I will" (via Newsweek).
Prime Minister Gordon Brown was left red-faced when the queen knew more about current affairs than he did
While plenty of American presidents have managed to embarrass themselves in front of Queen Elizabeth II, British Prime Ministers have also had their fair share of gaffes. Prime Minister Gordon Brown once found himself red-faced in the queen's presence when it turned out the monarch was more up to speed on current events than he was.
After Queen Elizabeth II's heartbreaking death, Brown shared fond memories of the monarch, recalling how he suffered a few embarrassing moments in her presence, and it was usually because she kept up with the news better than he did. "I was very embarrassed one day because I went in to see her at six o'clock, I didn't know that one of the Commonwealth leaders had been ousted and a new government had been formed," he recalled during an interview on "Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg" (via the Independent). "She was telling me what was happening when I was supposed to report to her."
Brown also vividly remembers the queen having extensive knowledge of what was going on in the country at any given time. She would keep up with the news every day and her secretaries would leave her notes with important updates. Queen Elizabeth was nothing if not informed, and Brown said he suspects that she remained on top of things until her very last days as monarch.
Michelle Obama temporarily forgot royal protocol
When President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama paid Queen Elizabeth II a visit in 2009, the first lady did the unthinkable: She put her arm around the queen. The gesture had many Britons clutching their pearls, and this breach of royal protocol quickly made headlines. It's possible that Michelle realized her mistake in the moment when the queen didn't immediately respond, but what could have been a very embarrassing moment turned into a tender one when the queen reciprocated by putting her arm around the first lady, too.
In her memoir, "Becoming," Michelle revealed that she had no idea at the time that embracing the queen was seen as a major breach of royal protocol. The two had connected over their sore feet from walking around in high heels all day before the hug happened. "If I hadn't done the proper thing at Buckingham Palace, I had at least done the human thing," the former first lady wrote. "I daresay that the Queen was okay with it, too, because when I touched her, she only pulled closer, resting a gloved hand lightly on the small of my back."
President Barack Obama sort of messed up his toast to the queen
President Barack Obama found himself in a bit of an awkward situation with Queen Elizabeth II as well during a 2011 visit to Buckingham Palace. At a state dinner, the former president toasted to the queen. "Ladies and gentlemen, please stand with me and raise your glasses as I propose a toast: To Her Majesty the queen," he started (via The Washington Post), only to be interrupted by the band starting to blast "God Save the Queen." Instead of quitting his speech, Obama continued over the loud music. Only when the music stopped did those gathered raise their glasses in a toast. Obama later recounted the embarrassing moment to British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, saying, "I thought that it was like, it was like out of the movies when the soundtrack kinda comes in." Clegg assured him he had nothing to worry about.
In a piece Boris Johnson wrote for the Daily Mail, he recounted another, lesser-known embarrassing moment Obama had while with the queen. The two apparently got on like a house on fire and had such fun talking when they first met that Obama forgot about the time. "Obama was so entranced that he stayed up drinking with her so late, they say, that the footmen had to come and cough to indicate that the evening was at an end," Johnson wrote.
Donald Trump broke an important royal rule
One can make a very long list of all the times President Donald Trump broke royal protocol. When he first paid Buckingham Palace a visit in 2018, many expected the controversial president to make a blunder or two, and he delivered. The first significant mishap occurred when Trump casually walked in front of Queen Elizabeth II, which is often said to be off limits. In video footage of the incident, it appears the queen showed Trump where to walk, which presumably had to be next to her. Instead, he strolled right ahead of her, with the queen awkwardly trying to fall into step next to him. "The Queen trains POTUS Donald Trump how to walk during Inspection of the Guard at Windsor castle," one person wrote on X.
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told CNN that while Trump didn't technically break any strict protocols, the awkward walk was a testimony to his arrogance. "It proves he (Trump) doesn't bother to rehearse, because [he] thinks he doesn't need to," Fitzwilliams said. "[He] might as well have been wandering up and down a golf course."
The Daily Mail claimed Trump walking in front of the monarch was indeed a breach of royal protocol and that he was between 12 and 15 minutes late to one of his meetings with the queen. The outlet also ridiculed the former president and First Lady Melania Trump for shaking the queen's hand upon meeting her instead of bowing and curtsying.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson had to apologize to the palace for hosting a party on the eve of Prince Philip's funeral
Prime Minister Boris Johnson found himself in a very uncomfortable situation in 2021 when his office not only held two parties during lockdown but decided to do so on the eve of Prince Philip's funeral. The incident, referred to as "partygate," put the former prime minister in a very bad light.
The evening before Queen Elizabeth II had to mourn her husband alone, thanks to strict COVID-19 protocols, 10 Downing Street was abuzz with two parties to bid farewell to two staffers — former director of communications James Slack and one of Johnson's personal photographers. About 30 people were gathered altogether. Partying continued well into the early morning hours and Slack later expressed his regret at their disregard for the timing.
"This event should not have happened at the time that it did. I am deeply sorry, and take full responsibility," Slack said (via Sky News). Johnson was left looking like a fool and made matters worse by not issuing a personal apology. Instead, his spokesperson apologized and made it clear Johnson had not attended the party. "It is deeply regrettable that this took place at a time of national mourning and Number 10 has apologized to the Palace," Johnson's spokesperson said in a statement. When asked why the prime minister wasn't forthcoming with a personal apology, the spokesperson sidestepped the question. The palace never commented on the incident.
President Joe Biden forgot to take his sunglasses off while meeting the queen
While his rap sheet is not nearly as long as Donald Trump's, President Joe Biden also had a bit of an embarrassing moment when he met with Queen Elizabeth II in 2021. Biden kept his sunglasses on as he greeted the queen and they remained on his face as he and his wife, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, inspected the Guard of Honor at Windsor Castle. When the U.S. national anthem played, Biden's sunglasses remained firmly in place. British media outlets were quick to point out that the president was in breach of royal protocol, citing former royal butler Grant Harrold's past outrage at Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour when she failed to take off her sunglasses when meeting the queen in 2018 at London Fashion Week. "With no medical reason, [it] is unacceptable," Harrold said at the time (via Newsweek). "Eye contact is important while holding a discussion, and not removing sunglasses is the height of bad manners and a serious breach of royal protocol."
Pundits took to X to ridicule Biden for failing to take off his sunglasses. "Why is Biden still wearing the sunglasses to meet the Queen? Incredibly disrespectful," one tweeted. The queen's relationship with Biden appeared to remain intact despite the blunder, however. She was seen smiling and laughing with the president for the duration of his visit, and if she was in any way insulted, she didn't show it.