INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — President Harry Truman was the first of 13 U.S. presidents to meet Queen Elizabeth II.
In 1951, then Princess Elizabeth met Truman during her visit to the States.
“With the King being ill, she was the heir to the throne. She was 25 years old, so she had undergone a lot of training in a short period of time to meet those responsibilities," said Randy Sowell, archivist at the Truman Presidential Library.
A collection of photos along with the vehicle the president and princess rode in are on display at the library in Independence.
“For political and diplomatic reasons, it was important to carry out that meeting," Sowell said. "It set the stage for her relations with the United States over the 70 years that followed, which were respectful."
A year after her 1951 meeting with Truman, Elizabeth became queen following her father's death. She then reigned for 70 years.
“She was still a contemporary figure as of 2022," Sowell said. "There aren’t too many people you can say that about who actually even met Truman who are still alive today. Some people are, but to have met him during his presidency, that would be a pretty select group now."
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