It was all going so well. But when the time came for President Obama to deliver his toast to Queen Elizabeth Tuesday night, the meticulously planned state dinner at Buckingham Palace turned, well, awkward.
As Obama began wrapping up his remarks, he put down his notecards and picked up his glass.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please stand with me and raise your glasses as I propose a toast,” the president said, as the guests stood up. “To her majesty the Queen.”
At this point, the band queued up “God Save the Queen.” But Obama wasn’t quite finished yet.
So he kept talking – over the British national anthem – and the president competed with orchestra for a few more seconds.
“For the vitality,“ Obama said just before the music started, “of the special relationship between our peoples, and in the words of Shakespeare, ‘To this blessed plot, this Earth, this realm, this England.’”
Obama raised his glass, but nobody else in view of the camera followed. And the queen, who had been looking straight ahead, glanced over to offer a pained smile.
“A minor mishap,” a BBC commentator said Tuesday night on air.
The White House declined a request for comment.
