Bill Clinton is said to have canceled tea with the Queen

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The Clinton couple and the Blair couple in London in May 1997

Photo: Greg Gibson / AP

Which is more interesting: sightseeing in London or a tea with the Queen? Former US President Bill Clinton is said to have made a rather unusual decision while visiting Great Britain in 1997. Instead of meeting the Queen Elizabeth II, he apparently preferred to travel "as a tourist" and wanted to visit an Indian restaurant. This was reported by the British Guardian, citing confidential documents published by the British National Archives.

The then US President Clinton traveled to Great Britain with his wife Hillary to meet the British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie officially for the first time.

Then Buckingham Palace answered: The "Queen would be very pleased" to invite the Clinton couple for five o'clock tea.

The Clintons were very grateful, but had "wanted to politely cancel."

That comes from reports from Tony Blair's private secretary.

The Clinton couple have also refused dinner at Checkers, the official country residence of the British Prime Minister.

Instead, Clinton is said to have said he wanted to be a tourist, go shopping and try Indian food.

Otherwise the plans of the Americans and the British seem to have been somewhat different.

As a “fun” photo opportunity, the Americans suggested that Clinton and Blair could do a “lunchtime jamming session” together - that is, make music together.

The US President could play the saxophone, the British Prime Minister the guitar.

Another idea was "a look into a pub (the Americans like that)," as the Guardian quotes from the documents.

Disagreement about the motif of a joint photo opportunity

Tony Blair's office reportedly suggested that the two heads of state could play sophisticated computer games alongside a group of children.

The White House rejected this idea as "not serious enough".

In the end, it was agreed that there would be free time between the press conference and dinner. Pictures show the Clinton and Blair couples in front of Tower Bridge.

They then ate dinner nearby, in a French restaurant: grilled sole, salmon, halibut and rabbit.

One of Bill Clinton's successors, former US President Donald Trump, met the Queen at Windsor Castle in July 2018.

According to the protocol, Trump is said to have made some mistakes.

So he came a quarter of an hour late for the appointment and, according to CNN, shook hands with the Queen instead of greeting her with a bow.

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