Most influential US presidents hosted by the royal family

As Donald Trump bid farewell to a highly publicised and subsequently controversial state visit to the UK on September 19, it is the ideal time to compare how his predecessors did with the royals over the years.

While Trump’s official tour was much revered due to being a historic second for a single American president, others before him had their own noteworthy moments as guests of the royal family.

Keep reading to find out.

Woodrow Wilson (1918)

Woodrow Wilson visited the UK around the end of the second World War — during his second term — and met King George V en route to the Paris Peace Conference.

Wilson had the distinction of being the first in office president to visit the royal family.

John F. Kennedy (1961)

JFK and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy were hosted by Queen Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip.

While not an official state visit, Kennedy’s meeting with the royal family was regarded for its informal nature, which also gave way to some awkward tension, though it was also memorable for being the president’s first major trip abroad.

Jimmy Carter (1977)

President Carter was welcomed by the Queen at Buckingham Palace as part of the G7 Summit and committed a rather notorious blunder.

The Queen Mother claimed to have been kissed right on the lips by the president during the night, while Carter later wrote in his autobiography that this account was “grossly distorted” by the British press.

George W Bush (2003)

George Bush travelled for a state visit at the height of the Iraq War, and much like Trump’s latest visit, fierce protests against the president amid the conflict dominated headlines.

Barack Obama (2009)

Having been invited to Buckingham three times during his two presidential terms, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama’s first such visit attracted significance when the latter breached protocol to hug Queen Elizabeth, while the president made headlines for getting the monarch an iPod.

“The British tabloids thought it was entirely inappropriate, but I think she used it quite a bit,” recalled Obama at the Inbound Conference in Boston.

Donald Trump (2019)

Trump’s first encounter with the royals was on the 75th anniversary of D-Day, which was also met with several protests and memorably included a giant balloon depicting the president as a baby — a prop which made its return for his recent visit.