Royal Visit
He was 57 years-old, but the grin on his face and the boyish excitement in his heart matched that of a 7 year-old. So impatient was he to get to the train station that he might have asked "Are we there yet?" But, after all, he was the President of the United States and he was about to greet the King and Queen of England.
Never in the history of the Americas had the reigning English sovereigns paid a visit. The initial idea for a royal visit took shape in the summer of 1937, at the coronation of King George VI. Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King proposed a Canadian visit, and President Roosevelt sent word that he would be delighted if King George and Queen Elizabeth would add the United States to their itinerary.
Over the next two years war clouds darkened over Europe. When the trip finally came to pass, it had evolved from an international social call into a means of cementing the ties between Britain and America. As Eleanor Roosevelt latter wrote, "My husband invited them to Washington largely because, believing that we all might soon be engaged in a life an death struggle, in which Great Britain would be our first line of defense. He hoped that the visit would creat a bond of friendship between the people of the two countries."
Arriving in Quebec on May 17, 1939, the King and Queen took Canada by storm; cheering crowds accompanied every appearance. On the evening of June 7, 1939, at 10:37 P.M.,the royal couples blue and silver train crossed to the American side of Niagara Falls. The first British sovereigns to enter the United States were met by Secretary of State Cordell Hull, who boarded the train to accompany them to Washington.
The following morning, President Roosevelt wearing a top hat, morning clothes, and a huge smile, waited at Union Station. A little after 11 0'clock the train hissed to a stop, and the King descended the stairs wearing the full-dress uniform of a British admiral. Four 3-inch field guns fired a 21-gun salute, but it was the Queen who captivated the crowd. Time magazine reported, "Elizabeth was the perfect Queen: eyes a snapping blue, chin tilted confidently, two fingers raised in a greeting as girlish as it was regal. Her long-handled parasol seemed out of a story book."
Secretary Hull stepped up and said "Mr. President, I have the honor to present Their Britannic Majesties." The President smiled warmly and said, "Well, at last I greet you." To which the King replied, "Mr. President, it is indeed a pleasure for her Majesty and myself to be here." The official party boarded the open presidential car and drove slowly through the crowded streets toward the White House.
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