“The Queen and Her President” analyzes the relationship between the British monarch and the 13 US presidents whom he met during his throne.
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Washington – She was not a woman wearing a colorful hat. And the American president knew that.
Queen Elizabeth II of England, whose 70-year reign made her the longest ruler in the country, met 13 presidents over her lifetime, more than any other American or foreign head of state.
Although she was routinely underrated and her influence was discounted, the Queen is a compelling global leader whose partners in the oval office have been shaped and sometimes shaped, said veteran journalist Susan Page, author of a book on the unique relationship between Queen Elizabeth and the US president.
The Queen was a skilled diplomat – “Really, she was one of the greatest diplomats in the world, always with British interests in mind.
“That aspect of her legacy is underestimated.”
The book entitled “The Queen and Her President” will be published by Harper Collins on April 14, 2026 just a few days before 100.th Anniversary of the Queen’s birth. It documents her transformation from a shy and unsettling princess to a powerful and persuasive leader, and provides an honest assessment of the American commander. You can pre-order on Amazon.
At the beginning of her reign, Queen Elizabeth, 25, received important advice from her leader Winston Churchill that she said she would “stay close to Americans.”
She did.
From Dwight Eisenhower to Joe Biden, Elizabeth met all the American presidents in office during their reign, except Lyndon Johnson. (In 1951, when she was still a princess, she also met Harry Truman when she visited the United States on behalf of her sick father, King George VI.)
The book on the page details Elizabeth’s bond with the American leader, including speculations and reality surrounding her relationship with Donald Trump. An unexpected and authentic connection with Barack Obama – and an incredible approval for him. And her influential friendship with Ronald Reagan during the Cold War was built on a common love for horses and a conflict with the then Prime Minister of England, Margaret Thatcher.
Furthermore, the book wanted to see the Queen’s close cooperation with John F. Kennedy and how Richard Nixon asked for her help during Watergate, and to make her a relative.
In researching the project, Page interviewed three US presidents (Trump, Obama and Bill Clinton), three prime ministers (Boris Johnson, David Cameron and Liz Truss), and two first ladies (Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton). She also visited eight presidential libraries and interviewed states, foreign secretaries, ambassadors, chiefs of protocols and historian secretaries.
Page, who also wrote a biography of former First Lady Barbara Bush, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and journalist Barbara Walters, sees a common thread between Elizabeth and three other women.
All four of them were from roughly the same generation and became more prominent despite having no expectations of living a vital life, she said.
But “all four of these women ended up living these huge consequential lives that affected what happened in the world and what happened around them,” Page said.
When Elizabeth was born, her uncle, Edward VIII, was expected to become king. He did so, but he abandoned less than a year later, allowing him to marry the American Wallis Simpson. His decision to resign not only meant that Elizabeth’s father would become king, but also that he opened the door for her own ultimate superiority over the throne.
Until then, “we had no idea that she would become the queen,” Page said. Elizabeth, who passed away in 2022, witnessed highs and lows of alliances between the US and the UK, from the 1956 Suez crisis to Brexit 60 years later. A skilled diplomacy practitioner, she was able to masterfully navigate her role on the world stage and avoid public spats with the prime minister who served under her rule.
“It wasn’t her style,” Page said. “She was very active behind the scenes.”
Perhaps this is why many Americans and people around the world remember her not as a powerful world leader, but simply as a stoic woman on a tiara, and as a colorful hat.
Follow Michael Collins on X @MCollinsNews.
