Ahead of Platinum Jubilee, a look at Queen Elizabeth’s diplomacy in US and Chicago
“Long to reign over us” forms the rousing finale of the English national anthem. One wag commented that the words are likely a reference to the unfriendly British weather. But they seem all the more powerful as Britain (and the rest of the world) prepare to pay tribute to the queen Sunday, as she marks 70 years on the throne, and the start of her unprecedented Platinum Jubilee.
Over the seven decades of her reign, she has enjoyed a special relationship with the U.S., which is reflected in her rapport with American presidents. She has met with 13 of the 14 presidents during that time, starting with President Harry Truman. The odd one out was Lyndon Johnson, who was prohibited by his physician from traveling to Britain for the funeral of Winston Churchill in 1965, when he would undoubtedly have met the queen.
During her reign, the queen has been instrumental in the trans-Atlantic alliance. This has developed into very close economic, cultural and security cooperation between the U.K. and the U.S. She has paid four state visits to the U.S., in 1957, 1976, 1991 and 2007 (by sheer coincidence, all the presidents at the time were Republican). Overall she has visited the country 11 times and these visits have taken her all over America, even including the unfamiliar experiences of a football game (1957) and a baseball game (1991). While many presidents have met the queen in Britain, two of these visits have had the full ranking of a state visit, President George Bush in 2003 and President Barack Obama in 2011. She has addressed the U.N. twice (1957 and 2010) and in 1991 the queen became the first British head of state to address a joint session of Congress in Washington.
The queen’s warmth toward the U.S. can be traced back to her youth. Her first visit, as Princess Elizabeth, took place in 1951. On the eve of the Second World War, her father King George VI visited the U.S., which was important in cementing the diplomatic unity between the countries. The president at the time, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was keen that Princess Elizabeth and her younger sister come along, writing that “I shall try to have one or two Roosevelts of approximately the same age to play with them!” The king declined the offer, feeling that the travel would be too arduous for his daughters.
So the queen first set foot on U.S. soil in 1951 when she stood in for her father who was unable to travel. The princess’ visit, accompanied by her husband Prince Philip, generated enormous excitement, with thousands of people lining the route from the airport in Washington. After the whirlwind trip, Truman wrote to the king: “We’ve just had a visit from a lovely young lady and her personable husband. They went to the heart of all the citizens of the United States . ... As one father to another we can be very proud of our daughters.”
The princess would have had no idea what lay in store for her less than three months later, when her father fell ill and died. The queen assumed the throne on Feb. 6 1952. It was not long before she was hosting the new president, Dwight Eisenhower, when he was invited to lunch at Buckingham Palace on May 16, 1952.
The Queen’s first state visit to the U.S. was in 1957. In 1959, she came to Chicago, albeit on a whirlwind 14-hour visit. After arriving on the Royal Yacht Britannia, she was greeted by Mayor Richard J. Daley and visited the University of Chicago and had a number of other engagements. The visit culminated in a dinner hosted by the mayor, when Elizabeth said in a speech: “Ever since we landed this morning we have not ceased to be impressed by the massive dignity of your city. … We shall carry with us … a memory of the generous hospitality of Chicago which will long warm our hearts.”
Over her reign, there have been huge economic, political, cultural, social and technological changes. The Elizabethan period has featured the first man on the moon, the birth of the internet and Britain’s retreat from imperialism.
Amid all the change and disruption, Elizabeth has been a constant, a figure of stability and consistency. Through her travels and her relationships with royalty, presidents and prime ministers, she has played an important role in international relations, not least in promoting U.K.-U.S. ties. As the queen marks her Platinum Jubilee, we can reflect that while she is still commander in chief of the armed forces, it’s as diplomat in chief that she really excels.