White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki committed a small error this week.
She referred Wednesday to Queen Elizabeth II as the “Queen of England.”
The title “Queen of England” became obsolete in 1707, when Scotland merged with England to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. Elizabeth’s correct title is actually “Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.” Her full title, if you want to get fancy with it, is: “Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.”
But you can just say “Her Majesty” for short.
Taken alone, Psaki’s flub is not particularly embarrassing. It’s certainly not egregious. But it is a somewhat humorous reminder that U.S. officials have struggled in recent decades remembering how to address and interact with members of the royal family.
Former President Donald Trump, for example, committed two gaffes in 2018 during his visit with the queen. His first mistake was reportedly making her wait 12 minutes. His second mistake was walking ahead of her as they strolled the grounds of Windsor castle. Protocol dictates one never turns his back on the queen. One certainly never walks ahead of her.
Then, there was former President Barack Obama, who had an embarrassing moment of his own in 2011 when he botched his toast to the queen. As the then-president began to wind down his salute, he paused and said, “To Her Majesty, the queen,” which the band understandably took as its cue to play “God Save the Queen.” But Obama wasn’t finished speaking, and he attempted to power through the remainder of his address, speaking over the band as if he were an actor refusing to be played off stage at the Oscars.
Earlier, in 2009, former first lady Michelle Obama also had an embarrassing moment when she broke a key rule of royal protocol by putting her arm around the queen. One must never touch the queen.
In 2007, former President George W. Bush had a much smaller gaffe, accidentally aging the queen by a full 200 years.
“The American people are proud to welcome your majesty back to the United States, a nation you’ve come to know very well. After all, you’ve dined with 10 U.S. presidents. You’ve helped our nation celebrate its bicentennial in 17 — in 1976,” he said during a welcoming ceremony on the White House lawn.”
The president caught himself. He then looked sheepishly at the queen, winked, and then said to his audience: “She gave me a look that only a mother could give a child.”
Lastly, there’s former President Jimmy Carter, who, upon meeting the queen and members of the royal family in 1977, kissed the Queen Mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, full on the lips.
“She was mortified,” former White House protocol officer Barry Landau recalled.
The queen mother herself wrote later of the incident: “I took a sharp step backwards — not quite far enough.”
In contrast, former Presidents Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, and George H.W. Bush’s respective meetings with the royal family went without incident. Reagan and the queen even bonded over their shared love of horseback riding.
The funniest thing about this growing list of royal faux pas is that there is an office at the U.S. State Department dedicated entirely to instructing federal officials on proper protocol and etiquette. It’s literally called the Office of the Chief of Protocol. One cannot help but wonder what, exactly, they’ve been doing for the past 14 years.
It’d be one thing if U.S. officials bungled protocol and titles for smaller, little-known counties with which the U.S. doesn’t have a long-standing “special relationship.” But what’s the excuse for getting it wrong with the royal family? It’s not as if these are new rules and titles!
The queen is scheduled to receive President Joe Biden this Sunday, the 13th U.S. president to meet her during her 69-year reign.
Fingers crossed that the motor-mouth president, who is also famously handsy, sticks to protocol.
