Prince Charles

The Prince of Wales is coming to Washington. What is it about royalty that fascinates us so? In 2005 when Prince Charles and his new wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, visited the White House, there was a staff frenzy from the moment we began to plan the visit. White House administrative types began turning up at routine planning sessions with our British counterparts, asking lots of questions and erroneously referring to the royal couple as “Their Majesties.” The British delegation took it all in their very polite stride, but the furor was only just starting. After the dinner invitations went out, there began a flurry of mini-campaigns from people who felt they had to be there. Some called every person they knew in the White House in the weeks leading up to the dinner, to ask for an invitation. Others sent long emails detailing their family’s connection to the royal family. There was a flurry of requests from New York City, which we were able to trace back to one dinner invitee who had told her friends about the invitation and gotten their competitive juices flowing. (You can imagine the conversations: “If they invited the Smiths, they can certainly invite us!”)

George W Bush, Duchess of Cornwall, Laura Bush, & Prince Charles — George W. Bush, Duchess of Cornwall, Laura Bush, & Prince Charles

Photos courtesy of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum

On the day of their arrival, the President and Mrs. Bush hosted an informal luncheon with the royal visitors in the family residence, which was genial and relaxed, but all through that day I had nervous calls and emails from guests invited to the dinner, asking for guidance on the etiquette. (Don’t speak until spoken to, don’t touch the royal person, and don’t address them as “Prince” or “Duchess” – because they aren’t a couple of English setters.) There were cheers from the crowd that gathered outside the White House gates when Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall arrived that night for dinner. The President and Mrs. Bush escorted them inside to a trumpet fanfare, and then the evening flew along in a blur – or at least it did for me. I remember their arrival, and I remember sitting in the alcove of the Green Room at the end of the night, listening to Yo Yo Ma’s performance in the East Room – and almost nothing in between. That’s not unusual; there’s so much to do at a formal dinner with two guest lists (one for the dinner and one for the after-dinner entertainment) that the memory of the night gets lost in the details. I do remember that there was a “happy ending” quality to the visit, as the Prince and the Duchess had only been married a few months. They looked like a couple of beaming newlyweds. Here are several photos from that blur of a day, including a rare one of me (note the scowl of concentration as I check the seating plan just before dinner.) I’m including a shot of the White House guest book, as it was signed by the Wales’, in case you ever wanted to see how a prince leaves his autograph. No last name required…