Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Rebecca Russell

President's half-naked son bumped into late Queen - and she gave hilarious reply

The late Queen maintained a strong relationship with the US throughout her 70-year reign and made a number of state visits - the last of which was in 2007.

While she was famed for her longevity, she was also known for her quick wit and excellent sense of humour.

She showcased this numerous times during her Stateside trips - whether it was making President Reagan roar with laughter or joking with President George W. Bush when he accidently aged her by 200 years in a welcoming speech to officials.

Another funny anecdote surfaced when the monarch was invited to Washington D.C. by President Ford to mark the 1976 Bicentennial Celebrations of the Declaration of Independence.

First Lady Betty Ford later recalled one embarrassing incident from the visit in an interview with the Washington Post which involved their son, Jack, bumping into the Queen when he wasn't fully dressed.

The Queen made the joke during a visit to the White House to meet President Gerald Ford (Getty Images)

The former First Lady explained that she was very stressed about the prospect of meeting the Queen but was able to relax slightly when she and the President were escorting the royal couple to the Yellow Oval Room via the lift.

It was at this point that the doors to the lift opened and Jack Ford, the couple's middle son, appeared with his dress shirt undone and holding his studs.

Ms Ford laughed as she remembered the moment, telling the publication: "The Queen said, 'Oh think nothing of it. I have one of those at home.' And obviously she does," Ms Ford said, laughing. "In fact a couple of them, from what I've read.

The Queen made the joke with former First Lady Betty Ford (1976 Anwar Hussein)
The visit took place to mark the 1976 Bicentennial Celebrations of the Declaration of Independence (nik wheeler)

Love the royals? Sign up for the Mirror's daily newsletter to get all the latest news on the Queen, Charles, Kate, Wills, Meghan, Harry and the rest of The Firm. Click here to sign up .

"I think probably Prince Andrew has caused her some similar experiences of looking for - well, maybe not dress studs."

This wasn't the first of the late Queen's funny run-ins at the White House as a previous incident with President George H. W Bush led to the monarch being referred to as 'the talking hat' - although she clearly saw the funny side.

The hilarious mishap took place in May 1991 when the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh arrived at the White House as part of the third US State Visit of her reign. President Bush stepped up to the podium first to make his welcoming remarks and then made way for the Queen to address the crowd.

The Queen was nicknamed 'the talking hat' (Getty)

However, he left the stand as he had found which meant that when the much smaller monarch stepped up to talk, the microphone was too high and covered her face from the TV cameras - meaning people could only see her hat moving as she gave her speech.

The moment made headlines around the world, with the image of the Queen's 'talking' purple hat becoming one of the most famous from President Bush Senior's time in the Oval Office.

Failing to see the funny side, the moment was taken as a serious mistake with the President later speaking of his regrets for not adjusting the podium to accommodate the Queen's small stature.

He told reporters: "Well, I feel bad I didn't adjust the speaker's stand, but she started to speak and I didn't realize how it would look from a straight angle, or I would have interrupted her. Because it wasn't fair to her and I'm just sorry that it was overlooked."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.