How President George Bush 'Publicly' Humiliated Queen Elizabeth During White House Visit

Queen Elizabeth had an unhappy encounter with President George H.W. Bush when she visited him in the White House in 1991. Following the incident, Her Majesty was heard telling Prince Philip what transpired.

While at the White House, the 41st president of the United States took to the podium first for a speech, and he also introduced the monarch. A stand was placed behind the podium that Bush forgot to remove.

When the Queen got to the podium to give her speech, it was evident that the microphone was so high and her face ended up being hidden. It was only her hat that could be seen while she was talking to the crowd.

Following the outing, the gaffe made headlines around the world. The Washington Post, for instance, headlined the Queen’s visit as “Britain’s Hat of State” instead of writing Britain’s Head of State.

Luckily, Her Majesty didn’t seem to mind the unintentional public humiliation. But in the 1992 documentary “Elizabeth R,” the Queen’s reaction to the incident was revealed while she was talking to the Duke of Edinburgh.

“Not something that I would ever actually think of beforehand. He is huge really, he is really tall,” she said.

And a few days following her trip to the White House, the Queen also made a mockery of herself. While speaking in front of the Congress in a joint meeting, she said that she hopes everyone can see her from where they are.

Meanwhile, Bush also shared his thoughts about the incident and admitted that he felt for the Queen. He also realized that he forgot to remove the podium and wanted to take it out but Her Majesty had already started talking.

“I thought about it but she started to speak and I didn’t realize how it would look from a straight angle, or I would have interrupted her. It wasn’t fair to her and I’m just sorry that it was overlooked,” he said.