Why did President Lyndon B. Johnson never meet Britain's Elizabeth II, making him the only seated US President that the Queen did not meet during her reign?

Datsmeharse

I'm not sure if I'll get in trouble for answering this without a specific linked reference, but I read once that it was just a matter of circumstance that their paths never crossed, and not a case of a specific foreign policy by either government, nor a personal issue. One can make a case that foreign policy might have played a small part though, but I KNOW speculation like that will get me in trouble so I'll refrain from that. The Queen would've assuredly met Johnson if she had attended JFK's funeral, but she was pregnant at the time and could not make the trip. Prince Philip did attend and met Johnson. The subsequent birth of Edward in 1964 and the raising of her other children kept her from visiting abroad regularly in the 1960's as much as other decades. She did not visit the U.S. between 1957 and 1976. Johnson, a great traveler within the U.S., only occasionally took trips outside the country (unlike other Presidents) and never made a scheduled trip to Europe. Johnson was no foriegn policy expert, (same can be said for his British counterpart Wilson) and so he chose to focus his Presidency on domestic issues, with the notable exception of Vietnam, and look how that turned out lol. In the absence of a specific link answering your question I offer this material. The Queen's trips abroad during Johnson's presidency broken down: 1964: A single official visit, honoring Canada's Centennial of Confederation in October of that year. Johnson was campaigning during that time for the election the following month. He had also just visited Canada the month prior to sign the Columbia River Treaty. Also, the U.S. was still recovering from the Kennedy Assassination, so the social whirlwind surrounding a State Visit by the Queen would not have been exactly appropriate. Mar 14 09, 5:48 PM

Datsmeharse

In 1965, only a single state trip to two African countries. She did host Jacqueline Kennedy in May of 1965 during the dedication of a memorial to JFK in Runnymede, England. This was noteworthy as it marked one of the few times Mrs. Kennedy had traveled since her husband's death, so in many ways this served as an 'official' U.S.-U.K. relationship event. 1966 a lengthy cruise to the Caribbean with her family and a short visit to Belgium. 1967 would've been their best chance to meet: the Queen visited Montreal and Expo '67 in late June. But Johnson's plate was full: The Israel-Egypt war began that month, he was pushing the nomination of Thurgood Marshall to the Supreme Court in the middle of the month, China detonated its first nuclear bomb at the same time, and he had a summit with Soviet Premier Kosygin during the time the Queen was in Canada. 1968 she made only a two-week trip to South America. State Visits during the Queen's Reign: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_state_visits_made_by_Queen_Elizabeth_II#1950s Visits by the Queen to the Commonwealth: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Commonwealth_visits_made_by_Queen_Elizabeth_II Mar 14 09, 5:51 PM

Datsmeharse

Johnson traveled extensively during his presidency, but almost all of it was domestically. He made only one official State Visit during his entire presidency, in 1966 to Asia: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/trvl/pres/12796.htm His only overnight trip to Europe was unscheduled: to Germany for Konrad Adenauer's funeral, which the Queen did not attend. Johnson also had Vietnam/Civil Rights to contend with; the Queen had Rhodesia and the EEC. The EEC is a circumstance that one could easily speculate that kept the Queen and the President apart as well. The United Kingdom's attempts to join the EEC were repeatedly contested by DeGaulle, who viewed the U.K. as being too much controlled by the United States. So official state visits between the the U.S. and U.K. would not have been a wise EEC-relations move at the time for the U.K., especially when one also considers Continental Europe's opinion of U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Johnson did meet officially and privately with Prime Ministers Douglas-Home and Wilson on several occasions during his incumbency. Note: The Queen met Gerald Ford only during the Bicentennial celebration in 1976 when she visited the U.S. He did not visit England during his presidency. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/trvl/pres/12798.htm I believe he is the only other President that she did not "host." But they partied big-time in the U.S.! http://www.speedace.info/speedace_images/queen_elizabeth_president_ford_usa.jpg http://www.ipl.org.ar/ref/POTUS/grford/queen.JPG Mar 14 09, 5:53 PM

billythebrit

Fabulously researched! Thank you ever so much. Mar 18 09, 9:08 AM