Presidents and Monarchs: Harry Truman Meets Princess Elizabeth
Elizabeth II was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from February 6, 1952 until her death last month on September 8, 2022. In October of 1951, Princess Elizabeth, who was heir to the throne, made a royal visit to Canada, a member of the Commonwealth, along with her husband Prince Phillip. On their way back home, the royal couple paid a visit to President Harry Truman in Washington, D.C. that was held on October 31st at the Canadian Embassy. It was not a Halloween costume party, but everyone was dressed up for the occasion in their finest attire. It was the first time that the future Queen of England had met a sitting President, though she had met Dwight Eisenhower when he was Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe and headquartered in London.
The royal couple posed for a photograph with President Truman, First Lady Bess Truman and their daughter Margaret Truman. The two leaders complimented each other's nations. Elizabeth told Truman, "Free men everywhere look towards the United States with affection and with hope."
The President greeted Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh earlier in the day at 4:07 p.m. at the Washington National Airport. Elizabeth was only 25 years old, but she had undergone a lot of training in a short period of time to meet the responsibilities of a monarch, in anticipation that her father, King George VI, was suffering from significant health problems, and did not have long to live. Truman welcomed his guests, stating:
It certainly is a very great pleasure for me as President of the United States to welcome you to the Capital of our country. On behalf of the Government and the people of the United States, I bid you a most hearty welcome. I think your visit will improve--if that is possible--the cordial relations that exist between our two great countries, and I hope that while you are here you will have a very enjoyable time.
I was most happy to hear that the King had recovered so promptly, so that you could make this trip. I remember with a great deal of pleasure the visit of the King and Queen while I was in the United States Senate. It happened to be my privilege to be presented to them when they held a reception at the British Embassy here.
I also had another very pleasant visit with the King on the Renown in Plymouth harbor, when I was on the way home from Potsdam. He had me on the Renown for luncheon, then he returned the call on the Augusta, and we had a most pleasant visit and conversation on world affairs as it affected Great Britain and the United States. I hope while you are here that you will get a chance to see a great many of our people. I am sincerely sorry that you can't go from one end of the country to the other as you did in Canada, and let everybody in the country have a chance to get acquainted with you, because Margaret tells me that whenever anyone becomes acquainted with you, they immediately fall in love with you. She had a most pleasant visit in England, and I hope that we will be able to make you feel as happy as she was when she came back home from there.
Princess Elizabeth responded as follows:
It is a very great pleasure, Mr. President, for my husband and me to be visiting you here in Washington. During our trip through Canada, I heard much of the warm goodwill felt by the people of the United States towards the people of Canada, and I am glad that before sailing for England we are to have this chance of seeing at least some of the country with which the whole British Commonwealth has so many friendly ties.
I know it is never possible to understand a country as great as this by visiting only its capital, even such a splendid one as Washington. But so much of the history of the United States has been enacted here, so many memorials of your national achievement stand here, that I hope before I leave to see a little deeper into the sources of your great strength.
Two days later, on November 2, 1951, President Truman hosted the Royal Couple at a Rose Garden ceremony, where Princess Elizabeth presented him with a gift on behalf of her father, King George VI. The gift consisted of an overmantel paired with rare English candelabra, a three-part mirror, and oil painting of flowers set in a carved gilt frame.
Truman alluded to the illness of Elizabeth's father, King George VI, who would pass away the following year. The stress of the war had taken its toll on the King's health, and the problem was made worse by his heavy smoking. King George developed lung cancer and also suffered from arteriosclerosis and Buerger's disease. His planned tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1949 had been postponed after the King suffered an arterial blockage in his right leg, which threatened the loss of the leg. As his elder daughter and the heir presumptive, Princess Elizabeth took on more royal duties as her father's health deteriorated. The delayed tour was re-organised, with Elizabeth and her husband, Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, taking the place of the King and Queen.
The King was well enough to open the Festival of Britain in May 1951, but on June 4, it was announced that he would need immediate and complete rest for the next four weeks. He was too ill to attend to a visit from King Haakon VII of Norway. On September 23, 1951, King George underwent a surgical operation where his entire left lung was removed, after a malignant tumour was found. In October 1951, Elizabeth and Philip went on a month-long tour of Canada; the trip had been delayed for a week due to the King's illness. At the State Opening of Parliament in November, the King's speech from the throne was read for him by the Lord Chancellor, Lord Simonds. His Christmas broadcast of 1951 was recorded in sections, and then edited together.
On January 31, 1952, against the advice of his doctors, the King went to London Airport to see Elizabeth and Philip off on their tour to Australia via Kenya. It was his last public appearance. Six days later, at 07:30 GMT on the morning of February 6, he was found dead in bed at Sandringham House in Norfolk. He had died during the night from a coronary thrombosis at the age of 56. His eldest daughter, now Queen Elizabeth II, flew back to Britain from Kenya. The King's funeral took place at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, on the 15th.
Below is some newsreel footage of that visit:
The royal couple posed for a photograph with President Truman, First Lady Bess Truman and their daughter Margaret Truman. The two leaders complimented each other's nations. Elizabeth told Truman, "Free men everywhere look towards the United States with affection and with hope."
The President greeted Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh earlier in the day at 4:07 p.m. at the Washington National Airport. Elizabeth was only 25 years old, but she had undergone a lot of training in a short period of time to meet the responsibilities of a monarch, in anticipation that her father, King George VI, was suffering from significant health problems, and did not have long to live. Truman welcomed his guests, stating:
It certainly is a very great pleasure for me as President of the United States to welcome you to the Capital of our country. On behalf of the Government and the people of the United States, I bid you a most hearty welcome. I think your visit will improve--if that is possible--the cordial relations that exist between our two great countries, and I hope that while you are here you will have a very enjoyable time.
I was most happy to hear that the King had recovered so promptly, so that you could make this trip. I remember with a great deal of pleasure the visit of the King and Queen while I was in the United States Senate. It happened to be my privilege to be presented to them when they held a reception at the British Embassy here.
I also had another very pleasant visit with the King on the Renown in Plymouth harbor, when I was on the way home from Potsdam. He had me on the Renown for luncheon, then he returned the call on the Augusta, and we had a most pleasant visit and conversation on world affairs as it affected Great Britain and the United States. I hope while you are here that you will get a chance to see a great many of our people. I am sincerely sorry that you can't go from one end of the country to the other as you did in Canada, and let everybody in the country have a chance to get acquainted with you, because Margaret tells me that whenever anyone becomes acquainted with you, they immediately fall in love with you. She had a most pleasant visit in England, and I hope that we will be able to make you feel as happy as she was when she came back home from there.
Princess Elizabeth responded as follows:
It is a very great pleasure, Mr. President, for my husband and me to be visiting you here in Washington. During our trip through Canada, I heard much of the warm goodwill felt by the people of the United States towards the people of Canada, and I am glad that before sailing for England we are to have this chance of seeing at least some of the country with which the whole British Commonwealth has so many friendly ties.
I know it is never possible to understand a country as great as this by visiting only its capital, even such a splendid one as Washington. But so much of the history of the United States has been enacted here, so many memorials of your national achievement stand here, that I hope before I leave to see a little deeper into the sources of your great strength.
Two days later, on November 2, 1951, President Truman hosted the Royal Couple at a Rose Garden ceremony, where Princess Elizabeth presented him with a gift on behalf of her father, King George VI. The gift consisted of an overmantel paired with rare English candelabra, a three-part mirror, and oil painting of flowers set in a carved gilt frame.
Truman alluded to the illness of Elizabeth's father, King George VI, who would pass away the following year. The stress of the war had taken its toll on the King's health, and the problem was made worse by his heavy smoking. King George developed lung cancer and also suffered from arteriosclerosis and Buerger's disease. His planned tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1949 had been postponed after the King suffered an arterial blockage in his right leg, which threatened the loss of the leg. As his elder daughter and the heir presumptive, Princess Elizabeth took on more royal duties as her father's health deteriorated. The delayed tour was re-organised, with Elizabeth and her husband, Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, taking the place of the King and Queen.
The King was well enough to open the Festival of Britain in May 1951, but on June 4, it was announced that he would need immediate and complete rest for the next four weeks. He was too ill to attend to a visit from King Haakon VII of Norway. On September 23, 1951, King George underwent a surgical operation where his entire left lung was removed, after a malignant tumour was found. In October 1951, Elizabeth and Philip went on a month-long tour of Canada; the trip had been delayed for a week due to the King's illness. At the State Opening of Parliament in November, the King's speech from the throne was read for him by the Lord Chancellor, Lord Simonds. His Christmas broadcast of 1951 was recorded in sections, and then edited together.
On January 31, 1952, against the advice of his doctors, the King went to London Airport to see Elizabeth and Philip off on their tour to Australia via Kenya. It was his last public appearance. Six days later, at 07:30 GMT on the morning of February 6, he was found dead in bed at Sandringham House in Norfolk. He had died during the night from a coronary thrombosis at the age of 56. His eldest daughter, now Queen Elizabeth II, flew back to Britain from Kenya. The King's funeral took place at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, on the 15th.
Below is some newsreel footage of that visit: