Queen Elizabeth II, normally the picture of proper protocol, couldn’t resist teasing President George W. Bush before her six-day visit to the United States ended late Tuesday night.
“I wonder whether I should start this toast by saying, ‘When I was here in 1776,'” the queen said during a formal dinner at the British ambassador’s residence, referring to the president’s verbal gaffe from Monday.
In his remarks at the ceremony welcoming the queen to the White House, Bush inadvertently said the queen helped celebrate America’s bicentennial in “177…1976.”
The gaffe drew laughs from the 7,000 spectators, but Bush said Queen Elizabeth “gave me a look that only a mother could give a child.”
When Bush’s turn came to offer a toast, the president did not try to match the queen’s humor.
“Your Majesty, I can’t top that one,” he said.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, the duke of Edinburgh, flew from Andrews Air Force Base to England following the dinner.
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