Posted on 05/07/2007 8:31:47 AM PDT by VxH
WASHINGTON — President Bush, a leader known for his informality, welcomed Queen Elizabeth II to the White House Monday with an uncharacteristic display of high pomp.
"We did sort of have to convince him a little bit" to opt for the white-tie dinner, first Lady Laura Bush said Monday of her and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's efforts to talk Bush into hosting the most formal dinner the White House can offer.
The British monarch and her husband, Prince Philip, are being greeted later Monday morning with a 21-gun salute and a parade by the U.S. Army's Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps attended by 7,000 guests on the White House's South Lawn.
An exclusive few will return in white tie and tails for the state dinner among 13 damask-clothed tables set with gold-trimmed ivory china and gilded silver candelabras.
"We're very excited to host Her Majesty," Mrs. Bush said Monday morning on ABC's "Good Morning America."
"We had the opportunity to be here the last time she was here for a state dinner (hosted by the first President Bush in 1991) ... and we're so thrilled to have the chance to host her and to show her the strong affection the American people have for the British," she said.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I liked the pink one better too,
though I love most of her hats (just the fun of wearing one!).
That’s the Scots for you - never leave them alone with wine and matches in a wooden building. . . . .
One of my mother’s friends lives in Williamsburg and camped out to see the Queen this weekend.
This whole thing makes we want to go shopping for a new hat! Maybe I’ll tell Mom I want one for my birthday.
And there’s no future in England’s dreaming......(snarl)
How many hat boxes must she travel with, I wonder, for a state visit. Guess there must be a hat lady-in-waiting on staff to take care of that.
She looks very nice today.
That would be a fun job: “Queen’s Hat Lady.”
She may even outlive him.
That would be a good thing.
Charles is the royal “Al Gore”.
What a nasty thing to say. I cannot believe you want any parent to bury their child. WTF? Charles is a jerk, creep, perhaps “Al Gore”, disgusting, etc. But what has the Queen done. I don’t think anybody should lose a child before they die. I guess you don’t give a crap if your kids die before you and you have to bury them. You must be very stone hearted.
“LOL, ease dude, she is not here to reclaim the colonies.”
Well, she just better not.
There was a time when we couldn't spare the ammunition in the presence of the British. How times have changed!
I read the other day that she is 81.
Thanks. She’s looking good.
“For some reason, British Monarchs don’t like being reminded about 1776. Why is that?”
Because some Scotsman wrote “Wealth of Nations” that year, and despite having the inside track on the teachings of that book the Brits let other nations beat them out on implementing the principals espoused in that book. Especially an upstart former colony in North America.
I saw a video of several men taking The Queen's hat boxes off the airplane. Various sizes and it looked like about 10 or so hat-boxes (I am guessing).
What stuck me as abit "odd" was that The Queen reviewed the troops carrying her black hand-bag.
Why did she need her purse? (OK, it's the little things that bug me).
I guess no "lady-in-waiting" gets to hold the Queen's hand-bag :)
sw
Really! Do they think that the President was raised in a barn?
Thank goodness C-Span will be covering the state dinner with the minimum of comment.
When will the British tax payers toss those free loaders out on their butts?
Homer Simpson: Yes, it is every parent's dream to outlive their children.
(Hint: Did I say it would be good for THE QUEEN if she outlived Charles? Way to run amok with it there, sport.)
I believe it’s because the handbag is considered part of the outfit, like her shoes or hat. If you look at pictures from as far back as the 40’s with her mother acting as queen, the royal handbag is almost always present.
Will you still be working full time when you are 81?
Just don't forget the quatrefoil on the cover.
As I watched this live, I thought the problem with the fauxpas to be the issue of the Queen's age if she had been here in 1776. W stopped to quietly laugh at his own mistake, but I don't think the Queen caught his self-depricating humor. But then neither does the press.
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