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| The Obamas and the royals: bond with monarchy covers up political cracks | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Related: The Queen's 90th birthday celebrations - in pictures | Related: The Queen's 90th birthday celebrations - in pictures |
| When Michelle Obama flies in to join her husband for birthday lunch with the Queen on Friday it will also mark an annual ritual for White House schedulers: when in doubt, reach for the royals. | When Michelle Obama flies in to join her husband for birthday lunch with the Queen on Friday it will also mark an annual ritual for White House schedulers: when in doubt, reach for the royals. |
| Throughout a presidency known for cordial but somewhat stiff relations with Britain’s political rulers, the monarchy has provided a flexible sticking plaster to cover up any sign of cracks in the special relationship. | Throughout a presidency known for cordial but somewhat stiff relations with Britain’s political rulers, the monarchy has provided a flexible sticking plaster to cover up any sign of cracks in the special relationship. |
| Ever since the first lady and the Queen famously put their arms around each other during the Obamas’ first official visit to the UK, a series of surprisingly relaxed encounters have delighted diplomats on both sides of the pond. | Ever since the first lady and the Queen famously put their arms around each other during the Obamas’ first official visit to the UK, a series of surprisingly relaxed encounters have delighted diplomats on both sides of the pond. |
| Princes Harry, Charles and William have all paraded through the Oval Office in the last 18 months, receiving levels of presidential access and bonhomie usually reserved for current heads of state rather than those in the waiting room. | Princes Harry, Charles and William have all paraded through the Oval Office in the last 18 months, receiving levels of presidential access and bonhomie usually reserved for current heads of state rather than those in the waiting room. |
| And the celebrity pull of the House of Windsor has captivated American audiences too. The recent trip to India by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge received such widespread US media attention that one political reporter complained it was temporarily eclipsing the presidential primary race on local television. | And the celebrity pull of the House of Windsor has captivated American audiences too. The recent trip to India by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge received such widespread US media attention that one political reporter complained it was temporarily eclipsing the presidential primary race on local television. |
| Dinner on Friday night at Kensington Palace with Wills and Kate, as they are still better known here, will be another photo-op few networks will pass up. | Dinner on Friday night at Kensington Palace with Wills and Kate, as they are still better known here, will be another photo-op few networks will pass up. |
| A visit to Congress by Prince Harry in 2013 also marked a rare moment where Capitol Hill’s studied boredom was abandoned in favour of evident swooning by many young political staffers. | A visit to Congress by Prince Harry in 2013 also marked a rare moment where Capitol Hill’s studied boredom was abandoned in favour of evident swooning by many young political staffers. |
| Whether political leaders actually feel the same way is another matter of course, and official claims to the contrary should be treated with caution. | Whether political leaders actually feel the same way is another matter of course, and official claims to the contrary should be treated with caution. |
| “The president has very much enjoyed his engagements with the Queen over the years,” insists White House adviser Ben Rhodes, who described the relationship as “longstanding”. | “The president has very much enjoyed his engagements with the Queen over the years,” insists White House adviser Ben Rhodes, who described the relationship as “longstanding”. |
| But the Queen has also seen them come and go, meeting all of the last 12 presidents except Lyndon Johnson, and no two families in the world today can have had more experience of making polite chit-chat in front of the cameras look authentic. | But the Queen has also seen them come and go, meeting all of the last 12 presidents except Lyndon Johnson, and no two families in the world today can have had more experience of making polite chit-chat in front of the cameras look authentic. |
| Nonetheless, the lack of political baggage that normally travels with the White House on such occasions certainly appears to come as a relief to the Obamas as they enter the twilight months of the presidency. | Nonetheless, the lack of political baggage that normally travels with the White House on such occasions certainly appears to come as a relief to the Obamas as they enter the twilight months of the presidency. |
| The US first lady’s tolerance for diplomatic fakery is noticeably thinner than her husband’s and her surprise last-minute decision to join him at Windsor Castle on Friday is in stark contrast with her absence from the president’s more important, but workmanlike, meeting with King Salman of Saudi Arabia on Thursday. | The US first lady’s tolerance for diplomatic fakery is noticeably thinner than her husband’s and her surprise last-minute decision to join him at Windsor Castle on Friday is in stark contrast with her absence from the president’s more important, but workmanlike, meeting with King Salman of Saudi Arabia on Thursday. |
| Their private encounters are not entirely without political substance either. When Prince Charles escaped from the London goldfish bowl for a few days in Washington and New York last year, he was said to be keen to share his experience of dealing with Gulf monarchies during a meeting with Obama. | Their private encounters are not entirely without political substance either. When Prince Charles escaped from the London goldfish bowl for a few days in Washington and New York last year, he was said to be keen to share his experience of dealing with Gulf monarchies during a meeting with Obama. |
| How much weight these pearls of wisdom will have carried inside the Oval Office one can only guess. | How much weight these pearls of wisdom will have carried inside the Oval Office one can only guess. |
| On the face of it, Obama is about as unlikely a royalist as George Washington. His memoir, Dreams From My Father, provided a powerful reminder of his family’s anti-imperialist past in Kenya, and there are suggestions that his grandfather was tortured at the hands of colonial forces. | On the face of it, Obama is about as unlikely a royalist as George Washington. His memoir, Dreams From My Father, provided a powerful reminder of his family’s anti-imperialist past in Kenya, and there are suggestions that his grandfather was tortured at the hands of colonial forces. |
| More recent interviews suggest scepticism about Downing Street’s modern-day commitment to maintaining international order and prompted the UK Independence party leader, Nigel Farage, to claim that Obama was the most anti-British president in history. | More recent interviews suggest scepticism about Downing Street’s modern-day commitment to maintaining international order and prompted the UK Independence party leader, Nigel Farage, to claim that Obama was the most anti-British president in history. |
| The allegation is firmly denied by White House officials, who view the trip to the UK as a chance to lend a hand to Cameron during the difficult weeks leading up to the Brexit referendum. But the need to preserve a fig-leaf of neutrality on domestic political matters will always limit the extent of any Downing Street love-in this close to an election. | The allegation is firmly denied by White House officials, who view the trip to the UK as a chance to lend a hand to Cameron during the difficult weeks leading up to the Brexit referendum. But the need to preserve a fig-leaf of neutrality on domestic political matters will always limit the extent of any Downing Street love-in this close to an election. |
| What better venue can there be instead to stress the enduring, non-political, aspect of the special relationship than Windsor Castle, a real life Downton Abbey, where there is another family that knows what it is like to live life under the relentless glare of television lights. | What better venue can there be instead to stress the enduring, non-political, aspect of the special relationship than Windsor Castle, a real life Downton Abbey, where there is another family that knows what it is like to live life under the relentless glare of television lights. |