- Staff
- #1
- 25,905
- 10,784
Barack Obama suffers royal toast mishap at Queen's banquet
Barack Obama suffered an awkward moment during a banquet at Buckingham Palace last night when he broke royal protocol by speaking over the national anthem.
Murray Wardrop 9:09AM BST 25 May 2011
The US President had just begun proposing a toast to the Queen when the orchestra accidentally struck up God Save The Queen.
However, rather than pause and continue the speech after the music had stopped, Mr Obama pressed on only to be rebuffed when he raised his glass to her.
The Queen did not seem to take offence at the mishap and appeared to stifle an embarrassed smile.
Protocol demands that people stand to attention when the national anthem is played.
Seated between the Queen and the Duchess of Cornwall for the white tie function, Mr Obama got to his feet and addressed the guests saying: “Ladies and gentlemen, please stand with me and raise your glasses as I propose a toast.
“To Her Majesty the Queen.”
Mistakenly believing that was their cue, the orchestra of the Scots Guard began playing the national anthem.
Mr Obama continued: “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’.”
Raising his glass, halfway through the anthem, he concluded “to the Queen”, but seemed baffled when she did not respond.
Looking around sheepishly at the rows of guests stood in silence, Mr Obama placed his glass back on the table and clasped his hands until the band had finished.
He then repeated the gesture to the Queen, who smiled again, as she finally raised her own glass to the President.
Numerous US news websites poked fun at the President over the gaffe.
Jake Tapper, ABC’s White House Correspondent, commented: “It almost felt like one of those moments at the Academy Awards when the speech from the recipient for Best Original Screenplay goes on too long and the orchestra tries to hustle him or her off the stage.”
Today President Obama laughed off the incident and said that the opening bars of God Save The Queen gave the conclusion to his address a far more "rousing" tone than he could have hoped for.
Barack Obama suffered an awkward moment during a banquet at Buckingham Palace last night when he broke royal protocol by speaking over the national anthem.
Murray Wardrop 9:09AM BST 25 May 2011
The US President had just begun proposing a toast to the Queen when the orchestra accidentally struck up God Save The Queen.
However, rather than pause and continue the speech after the music had stopped, Mr Obama pressed on only to be rebuffed when he raised his glass to her.
The Queen did not seem to take offence at the mishap and appeared to stifle an embarrassed smile.
Protocol demands that people stand to attention when the national anthem is played.
Seated between the Queen and the Duchess of Cornwall for the white tie function, Mr Obama got to his feet and addressed the guests saying: “Ladies and gentlemen, please stand with me and raise your glasses as I propose a toast.
“To Her Majesty the Queen.”
Mistakenly believing that was their cue, the orchestra of the Scots Guard began playing the national anthem.
Mr Obama continued: “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’.”
Raising his glass, halfway through the anthem, he concluded “to the Queen”, but seemed baffled when she did not respond.
Looking around sheepishly at the rows of guests stood in silence, Mr Obama placed his glass back on the table and clasped his hands until the band had finished.
He then repeated the gesture to the Queen, who smiled again, as she finally raised her own glass to the President.
Numerous US news websites poked fun at the President over the gaffe.
Jake Tapper, ABC’s White House Correspondent, commented: “It almost felt like one of those moments at the Academy Awards when the speech from the recipient for Best Original Screenplay goes on too long and the orchestra tries to hustle him or her off the stage.”
Today President Obama laughed off the incident and said that the opening bars of God Save The Queen gave the conclusion to his address a far more "rousing" tone than he could have hoped for.
