Behind The Scenes Of Barack Obama's Photo Op With King Charles
Members of the British royal family have likely racked up sky-high airline miles for the number of official trips they've taken during their reigns. King Charles III has done quite a bit of traveling over the course of his life, and he's known to bring some strange things with him wherever he goes. He's also visited with a lot of important people. On a trip to the U.S. in 2015, Charles and Queen Camilla — then Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall — visited President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. Charles and Obama's conversation included some friendly banter.
While posing for photos in the Oval Office of the White House, Charles leaned over to Obama and said, "It's always nice coming back. Everybody's so friendly" (via CBS News). Obama replied, "Well, I think it's fair to say that the American people are quite fond of the royal family."
The men laughed and Charles said, "That's awfully nice to know." When Obama quipped, "They like them much better than their own politicians," the men laughed again. With a smile, Charles replied, "I don't believe that." Charles also talked about enjoying his visit to Mount Vernon, a monument he had visited in the '70s.
Obama was right about Americans preferring the royals
King Charles III's 2015 visit to the White House wasn't the first time he and President Barack Obama had met in the Oval Office. During Charles' 2011 visit to the U.S., the men were photographed in the same spot. After that meeting, an official statement by the White House was shared: "President Obama warmly welcomed the prince's work over three decades on environmental issues, halting deforestation and encouraging sustainable food production" (via Today). The statement also included a well-wish for Prince William and Kate Middleton, who had recently gotten married at the time.
Following Charles and Obama's 2015 meeting and their conversation on Americans preferring royals, NPR collected data from various surveys. They showed that Obama's statements on the royals' popularity in the U.S. were true. Recent polling from back then showed a 46% job-approval rating for Obama. Conversely, a 2012 poll from CNN/ORC showed 82% of Americans feeling positively on Queen Elizabeth II. That polling was done around the time of the late queen's Diamond Jubilee, celebrating her 60 years as queen.
Obama and Queen Elizabeth II got along as well
Barack Obama also had a good friendship (or at the very least, warm acquaintanceship) with King Charles III's mother. In 2011, a few weeks after Charles and Barack met in the White House, the president and First Lady Michelle Obama headed to London for their own official visit. In addition to meeting with Charles and then-Duchess Camilla, the Obamas met with Charles' parents, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. During a speech, Queen Elizabeth welcomed them and mentioned their first meeting in 2009. She also talked about the strong link between the U.S. and the U.K. and ended with a toast to the U.S. and the Obamas.
When it was Barack's turn to speak, he shared similar sentiments and toasted with a Shakespeare quote: "To Her Majesty the Queen. For the vitality of the special relationship between our peoples, and in the words of Shakespeare, 'To this blessed plot, this Earth, this realm, this England.' To the Queen" (via Obama White House).
Obama shared nothing but praise for Queen Elizabeth after her death. As the political landscape of America has changed over the years, British royals and American politicians have still gotten along.