The Queen and the 13 Presidents

Barack Obama

Barack Obama was accused of breaking royal protocol when, during a 2011 state visit, he bungled a toast to the queen by speaking over the British national anthem. First lady Michelle Obama also found herself under scrutiny on a separate occasion when she placed her arm around the queen’s shoulder. In her memoir, “Becoming,” Michelle said she later learned that touching the queen was “an epic faux pas.” But, she added, the queen didn’t seem too displeased. “I daresay that the queen was okay with it, too,” Michelle wrote, “because when I touched her, she only pulled closer, resting a gloved hand lightly on the small of my back.”