Queen Elizabeth II met every U.S. president from Harry Truman to Joe Biden, except for Lyndon Johnson, but the one she held a special friendship with was President Ronald Reagan after they bonded over their mutual love of the outdoors and horseback riding, his biographer, Craig Shirley, told Newsmax on Friday.
"Reagan once said that one of the perks of being in office was the morning rides with Queen Elizabeth," Shirley told Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "Part of the reason they bonded was that they loved the outdoors and because of their love of horses, so they became fast friends after that."
The queen, who died Thursday at the age of 96, first visited Reagan at his California ranch in 1983, where they were famously photographed riding horses together, and "they became fast friends after that," said Shirley.
"She always wrote her letters to Reagan starting with 'Mr. President,' but she would sign off and say 'your dear friend, Elizabeth,'" said Shirley. "Without a doubt, most people will tell you he was her favorite [president]."
Reagan was one of only three presidents to be awarded honorary knighthoods, with two coming from the queen and the other from her father, King George VI. She honored him in 1989 and President George H.W. Bush in 1993. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was knighted in 1943 and 1945 by King George VI.
Reagan and Queen Elizabeth ended up meeting often, at least four or five times, said Shirley, and she said it was "important that they get together to show the world the special relationship" between the United States and Great Britain.
Late British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was the first one to coin the phrase "special relationship" between the two countries, noted Shirley.
"There have been bumps along the way, with the trade disagreements, things like that, or our disagreements over the liberation of Grenada, but, by and large, we've had a special relationship and had been joined at the hips with Great Britain for over 70 years," Shirley said.
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.