Queen 'roasted' US President after he mistakenly said she was born in the 1700s

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The Queen cracked a joke about the gaff (Image: 2007 Getty Images)
The Queen cracked a joke about the gaff (Image: 2007 Getty Images)

The late Queen was renowned for her excellent sense of humour and light-hearted jibes she always managed to fit into her speeches.

While there are countless options to choose from, one of the best came during a visit to Washington in 2007 - and a US President was on the receiving end of her sharp wit.

In what would ultimately be the monarch's last visit to the United States, the Queen stood with President George W. Bush as he made a speech on the lawn of the White House to welcome the royal couple back.

Following a few brief words, the President made a mistake in his address which mistakenly aged the Queen by more than 200 years.

But the Queen got her own back shortly after during a speech of her own.

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Queen 'roasted' US President after he mistakenly said she was born in the 1700sPresident Bush the moment he realised his mistake (Getty)

During an official welcome ceremony on the White House lawn, Mr Bush stumbled over a line in his speech, initially saying the Queen had helped celebrate the US bicentennial in 1776, rather than 1976.

Realising his mistake, he winked broadly at the monarch before turning back to the assembled dignitaries to say: "She gave me a look that only a mother could give a child."

At a formal dinner at the British ambassador's residence in Washington a few days later, the Queen opened her speech with a toast to the US president.

Grinning playfully, she began: "I wondered whether I should start this toast by saying, 'When I was here in 1776...'" The guests, including Mr Bush, erupted in laughter.

In his own speech, the president responded: "Your Majesty, I can't top that one."

This visit in 2007 would mark the late Queen's final visit to the US. The-then Prince of Wales later returned on her behalf to attend the state funeral of President George H.W Bush in 2018.

Queen 'roasted' US President after he mistakenly said she was born in the 1700sThe well-humoured Queen referenced the mistake in her speech (2007 Getty Images)

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This wasn't the first of the Queen's funny run-ins with the Bush family as a previous incident with President George Bush Sr led to the monarch being referred to as 'the talking hat' - although she clearly saw the funny side.

The hilarious mishap took place in May 1991 when the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh arrived at the White House as part of the third US State Visit of her reign. President Bush stepped up to the podium first to make his welcoming remarks and then made way for the Queen to address the crowd.

However, he left the stand as he had found which meant that when the much smaller monarch stepped up to talk, the microphone was too high and covered her face from the TV cameras - meaning people could only see her hat moving as she gave her speech.

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Queen 'roasted' US President after he mistakenly said she was born in the 1700sThe Queen was dubbed as 'the talking hat' after the incident with President George H. W. Bush in 1991 (Getty)

The moment made headlines around the world, with the image of the Queen's 'talking' purple hat becoming one of the most famous from President Bush Senior's time in the Oval Office.

Failing to see the funny side, the moment was taken as a serious mistake with the President later speaking of his regrets for not adjusting the podium to accommodate the Queen's small stature.

He told reporters: "Well, I feel bad I didn't adjust the speaker's stand, but she started to speak and I didn't realize how it would look from a straight angle, or I would have interrupted her. Because it wasn't fair to her and I'm just sorry that it was overlooked."

Rebecca Russell

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