Happy Birthday Your Majesty!
Images: President Ford dances with Queen Elizabeth II and the Queen giving a toast at a state dinner honoring Her Majesty on July 7, 1976.
This month’s Archives Hashtag Party celebrates #ArchivesPenPals.
The President receives letters from and sends letters to wide variety of people, from ordinary citizens to other heads of state. Today we’re featuring the Presidential Correspondence with Foreign Leaders. This collection contains a mix of routine and substantive letters and telegrams exchanged between President Ford and leaders of sixty-four countries. These materials provide insights into some of the major international issues of the 1970s, as well as a glimpse into President Ford’s relationships with other world leaders.
Image: Letter from Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain to President Gerald R. Ford Accepting an Invitation to Make a State Visit for the American Bicentennial, 6/19/1975 (National Archives Identifier 16637920)
Special Letters Spotlight: A weekly series highlighting unique correspondence from the Gerald R. Ford Special Letters series of the Gerald and Betty Ford Special Materials.
This week we’re featuring a letter to President and Mrs. Ford from Willie Mays, one of the most prolific baseball players of all time.
Mays played for the New York Giants from 1951-1952. From 1952-1953 he served in the United States Army. After his military service he continued playing for the Giants until 1972 when he was picked up by the New York Mets. Mays retired from baseball in 1973 with a never before seen list of accomplishments. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his first year of eligibility, garnering almost 95% of the available votes. In November of 2015 Mays was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.
In his letter to President and Mrs. Ford Mays thanks them for his invitation to the state dinner in honor of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh. He notes that it was a night with a “historical atmosphere” and a “marvelous setting.”
Images: Letter from Willie Mays to President Gerald Ford, ca. 7/1976, From the Gerald and Betty Ford Special Materials, Box A7, folder “Mays, Willie”; Willie Mays waiting in the receiving line prior to the State Dinner in honor of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh with actor Telly Savalas and others, 7/7/76 (White House Photograph B0564-07A); President Ford introduces Willie Mays to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in the receiving line prior to the State Dinner, 7/7/76 (B0578-10A)
Happy 90th birthday, Queen Elizabeth II!
Born today in 1926 in London to the Duke and Duchess York, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, she was the eldest of two daughters. She assumed her public duties during World War II before marrying Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, with whom she had four children. As her father’s health began to decline, Elizabeth began standing in for him at public events, including a visit to US President Harry S. Truman in Washington, DC in October 1951.
Queen Elizabeth’s coronation took place on June 2, 1953 in Westminster Abbey, making hers the first ceremony to be televised. Throughout her reign, Elizabeth has made numerous historic visits and meetings, including to the Republic of Ireland, with five Popes, and many presidents of the United States, seen here.
She has opened two Summer Olympics, sends an annual Christmas message broadcast to the Commonwealth, and has a love of corgi dogs. Elizabeth surpassed her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, as Britain’s longest-living monarch in December 2007, the longest-reigning monarch in history in September 2015, and is currently the world’s oldest reigning monarch.
Images:
- “She visited the United States in October of 1951, when she was still Princess Elizabeth. Here, she rides in a car with President Truman from the airport to Blair House.”
- “Photograph of President Gerald Ford Dancing with Queen Elizabeth II during a State Dinner Held in Her Honor.” 7/4/1976
- “Jimmy Carter with Queen Elizabeth.” 5/13/1977
- “Photograph of President Reagan and Queen Elizabeth II Horseback Riding at Windsor Castle, England.”
- “President and Mrs. Bush host a State Dinner for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip of Great Britain at the White House.” 5/14/1991
- “President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush Welcome Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh to the White House.” 5/7/2007
Inside Betty’s Closet: Learn more about Betty Ford’s style as we highlight some of her favorite fashion designers and their clothes she wore as First Lady.
The Fourth of July took on special significance in 1976 when the nation celebrated its 200th birthday. The Fords hosted their largest state dinner in honor of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip as part of the Bicentennial festivities on July 7, 1976.
For that occasion Mrs. Ford wore a green chiffon gown designed by Luis Estevez. Lace and sequined flowers decorate the neckline and shoulders. The dress also featured flowing, sheer sleeves and a tie-belt at the waist.
Images: green chiffon gown by Luis Estevez; First Lady Betty Ford Dancing with Prince Philip of Great Britain in the State Dining Room during a State Dinner Honoring Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, 7/7/1976.
Source: fordlibrarymuseum.gov
President Gerald R. Ford, Vice President Nelson A. Rockefeller, and Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain Raising Their Glasses in a Toast at a State Dinner Honoring Her Majesty and Prince Philip
Item from: Series: Gerald R. Ford White House Photographs, 8/9/1974 - 1/20/1977
Right after the bicentennial of America, President Ford welcomed Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. With this toast he celebrated the two nations’ common roots and strong ties. In his toast to the Queen, President Ford said, “The ties that bind us together have through two great wars served as a bulwark in the defense of liberty and the dignity of man. These ideals, born and nurtured in our common past, have withstood the test of time. Our two nations are working today side by side in preserving freedom…” Click on this link to read the full text of the toast: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/1252960?q=toast%20elizabeth
“We look forward with pleasure to meeting you and Mrs. Ford and, with happy memories of previous visits to the United States, welcome the opportunity to see more of your country and the American people.”
Letter from Queen Elizabeth II accepting President Ford’s invitation to make a state visit to the United States July 7-11, 1976, for America’s Bicentennial. June 19, 1975.
You can check out more correspondence with Queen Elizabeth II and other heads of state in the Presidential Correspondence with Foreign Leaders.
Source: fordlibrarymuseum.gov
President Ford dances with Queen Elizabeth II while Mrs. Ford partners with Prince Philip following a state dinner honoring Her Majesty on July 7, 1976.
An Evening of Memories
After dinner the Fords, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, and their guests moved inside to the East Room for the entertainment portion of the evening. British-born comedian Bob Hope, who had been specially requested by Her Majesty, led a program that also included the musical duo Captain and Tennille.
Hope had previously entertained the British Royal Family at four command performances. On this occasion he sang his trademark song “Thanks For the Memory” with special lyrics recognizing the British guests of honor.
Although the “Captain” Daryl Dragon had been feeling under the weather earlier in the day the show still went on for him and Toni Tennille. Their set included their hits “Love Will Keep Us Together” and “Muskrat Love,” which some commentators felt was not an appropriate song choice to play for Her Majesty.
“After all, nobody can say that what happened on the Fourth of July 1776 was not very much a bilateral affair between us.”
Queen Elizabeth II began her toast at this state dinner by recognizing how appropriate it was she visited the United States during the main week of the Bicentennial celebration. Her remarks reflected on the Anglo-American relationship since America gained its independence:
Mr. President, history is not a fairy tale. Despite the good intentions, hostility soon broke out between us and even burst into this house. But, these early quarrels are long buried. What is more important is that our shared language, traditions and history have given us a common vision of what is right and just.
Both our peoples believe in the worth of the individual and the family, in freedom of religion and expression, in the right to change a Government by the ballot box rather than the gun, perhaps the best definition of democracy.
That is why time and time again, in the testing days of war, and the constructive years of peace, we have stood together on the things that matter. The world has changed a great deal since that Declaration was signed in Independence Hall 200 years ago. Over the generations the British people have watched with admiration – and can I say with pride – how you, with ingenuity and resource, first peopled and settled the continent and then undertook a world role which has brought great and lasting benefits to humanity….
Mr. President, I raise my glass to you and to Mrs. Ford, to the 200th birthday of America and to the happiness of her staunch and generous people.
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