President Obama and Queen Elizabeth II chat during a state dinner at Buckingham Palace in London on Tuesday. Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are in the United Kingdom for a two-day state visit at the invitation of the queen.
President Obama and Queen Elizabeth II chat during a state dinner at Buckingham Palace in London on Tuesday. Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are in the United Kingdom for a two-day state visit at the invitation of the queen.
In lavish style, President Obama and Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday affirmed a bond between the United States and the United Kingdom that has strengthened through the sacrifice of war and a history of common values. As the queen put it, the relationship is "tried, tested and, yes, special."
For his part, the president, dressed in white-tie tuxedo for a glitzy dinner at Buckingham Palace, said in a toast that the relationship "never rests."
"We can have confidence in the partnership that our two countries share, based on the rock-solid foundation built during Queen Elizabeth's lifetime of extraordinary service to the nation and to the world," the president said at a dinner in which White House staffers mixed with U.S. movie stars and British royalty.
Obama immersed himself in grandeur Tuesday as the queen welcomed him to Buckingham Palace for the first day of a state visit that kept the president largely out of sight for most of the British public. The Obamas will spend the night in Buckingham Palace, in the same suite where newlyweds Prince William and Kate Middleton spent their wedding night just last month. The Obamas missed the royal wedding, but met the young couple briefly Tuesday.
There was an elaborate arrival ceremony on the steps of the palace's West Terrace, complete with a 41-gun salute; a tour of the Queen's private gallery, where the monarch highlighted items she thought would hold personal significance to the president.
Obama lingered over a personal diary kept by King George III before and after the U.S. Revolution.
"America is lost!" the King wrote back around 1783, before going on to wonder about the possibility of trade with his former colonies and the importance of "a future friendship and connection."
A Special Relationship
Heather Conley of the Center for Strategic and International Studies said that connection is at the heart of this two-day presidential visit.
"I think the focus for the visit to the U.K. is really to put the special back into the U.S.-U.K. special relationship."
Obama went further in an op-ed column published Tuesday in The Times of London. Along with British Prime Minister David Cameron, he wrote the relationship between the two countries is not only special, but "essential."
"When the United States and Britain stand together," they wrote, "our people and people around the world can become more secure and more prosperous."
Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said Obama will highlight that relationship with Britain ? and more broadly with Europe ? when he speaks to a joint session of Parliament on Wednesday and again at the G-8 summit in France later this week.
"We recognize that we live in a new world. ... The president will reaffirm ... [that] the alliance between the United States and the United Kingdom, and the broader trans-Atlantic alliance, is the cornerstone of global security and the extension of democratic values that we share," he said.
That's a two-sided message. On the one hand, it's a bow to Europe's continued status in the world, despite the rise of new powers like China. But it also comes with a not-so-subtle demand that Europe share more of the responsibility and the cost of acting as global banker and policeman.
That's not easy at a time when much of Europe is wrestling with its own financial troubles.
Out Of Sight
The pomp and pageantry happened largely behind the palace walls. Though pictures of Obama's visit blanketed British television, the president made no formal remarks Wednesday, except for a brief statement on the deadly tornadoes in the U.S.
President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron play table tennis at Globe Academy, in south London, on Tuesday.
President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron play table tennis at Globe Academy, in south London, on Tuesday.
The day stood in stark contrast to Obama's stopover Monday in Ireland, where the U.S. president with a touch of Irish in his family history set out to connect with the public. And the Irish returned the embrace, often literally, lining the streets of Moneygall, the tiny village that was home to Obama's great-great-great grandfather, and packing central Dublin for the president's speech on the deep bonds between the U.S. and Ireland.
In London, small crowds gathered outside of Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey, where the president laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown warrior. But the best they could hope for was a quick wave from the president as he entered his limousine or a glimpse of him as his motorcade sped by.
Obama did break away from the formality of the royal family for a trip to a local school, where he and Cameron visited a science class and played table tennis with students.
Personal Touches
Before delving back into heavy foreign policy matters, the Obamas will be guests of the queen at a lavish banquet at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday night. About 170 members of the royal family and other dignitaries are expected to attend.
Obama is only the second U.S. president to be accorded a state visit in Britain during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, according to Buckingham Palace. Although most previous presidents have visited England and met the queen, a number of features are required by British protocol in order for the trip to be considered a state visit. George W. Bush is the only previous U.S. president to be accorded a state visit, according to Buckingham Palace.
The queen is said to be quite fond of the Obamas, having first met them in London in 2009. A palace official said she was closely involved and interested in the planning of this state visit, a grand event that happens only about twice a year for a world leader of the queen's choosing.
As is customary, there was an exchange of gifts: From the Obamas to the queen, a collection of memorabilia and photographs from her parents' 1939 visit to the United States, and from the queen to the Obamas a selection of letters from the royal archives to and from past U.S. presidents and English monarchs. The Obamas struck a highly personal note with their gift for the queen, who is said to have been very close to her parents.
The president also paid a visit to Westminster Abbey where he laid a wreath at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior. It's the resting place for an anonymous soldier from the First World War. But it's also come to represent the country's contribution to later battles, from D-Day to Afghanistan.
But the president suffered a momentary lapse, pausing to ask for spelling help as he wrote a message in the abbey's distinguished visitors' book. Then he dated his note May 24, 2008. He wasn't even president then.
NPR's Scott Horsley contributed to this report, which contains material from The Associated Press.
Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/05/24/136624013/obama-u-s-u-k-relationship-never-rests?ft=1&f=1001
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