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Have you ever actually seen a president/monarch/PM?

AprilBaby

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July 4, 1976 Valley Forge, PA. Gerald Ford gave a speech for bicentennial.

Labor Day sept 2000, George W Bush marched in a parade in my current town.

I had tickets to see Barack Obama at grant park election day but decided not to go; too cold, too late
 

dk168

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QE II when she visiting HK as part of her Silver Jubilee tour, her limo passed the block where I used to live en route to the Happy Valley race course one evening.

I joined the other well-wishes along with my dad and siblings to cheer for her and the DoE.

DK :))
 

Trekkie

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Seen? Yes. Met? No.

But I went to a ridiculously posh school that placed huge emphasis on the proper behaviour for young ladies and was forced to sit through endless lessons on deportment and etiquette. One of the things that stuck out was, "When you meet a head of state, you remove your gloves before you shake their hand"...

Now keep in mind, I live in Africa. Small town Africa. How is lil ol' me ever going to meet a head of state? And why in Gd's name would I be wearing gloves at the time??? In this heat???

I thought it was the most ridiculous thing ever until a schoolfriend moved to the UK, started working for Google and somehow ended up being invited to events at Buckingham palace. The first time she met the queen, she very excitedly posted, "And thanks to Mrs Whatsherface, I even remembered to remove my gloves!"

Unfortunately she's also a bit of a ditz, so when she met Prince Philip at another do, she addressed him as "Your Majesty". Oooops! :lol:
 

OreoRosies86

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Seen, yes, but not personally met. President Obama was visiting where I live with Francois Hollande and I just happened to be at a viewing distance! It was very cool.
 

AprilBaby

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Elliot86|1412257643|3760560 said:
Seen, yes, but not personally met. President Obama was visiting where I live with Francois Hollande and I just happened to be at a viewing distance! It was very cool.

You live with Francois Hollande? Do tell!
(Sorry, couldn't help myself!). :lol:
 

OreoRosies86

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AprilBaby|1412259272|3760580 said:
Elliot86|1412257643|3760560 said:
Seen, yes, but not personally met. President Obama was visiting where I live with Francois Hollande and I just happened to be at a viewing distance! It was very cool.

You live with Francois Hollande? Do tell!
(Sorry, couldn't help myself!). :lol:

Oh I never mentioned it before? You must visit the Chateau sometime! :lol: :oops:
 

mayerling

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Does an heir to the throne count? I saw William and Kate when they visited the city I was living in in 2012.
 

tyty333

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Carter shook my hand in a crowd...it wasn't exactly a shake but more of a squeeze. We just happened to be at the location
when he was coming threw. Didn't really plan to see him.
 

Asscherhalo_lover

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Not a reigning Monarch but I saw Prince Harry throw out the first pitch at a Mets game. He did well. I remember wondering why there was so much extra press than usual, lol.
 

GK2

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I attended a garden party at Buckingham Palace in about 1991 -most of the British royal family were in attendance so I saw theQueen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles and Diana and other lesser members up very close. The Queen spoke to a couple next to me who were former members of the royal household and Diana spoke to a lady on the other side - I was mesmerised by what is now Catherine's ring :love:

I've also sat opposite the Queen at a church service celebrating an anniversary of the city I live in - she had the most amazing brooch on the sparkled away, but I was amused by the looks she kept giving to a politicians wife who was dressed in the most inappropriate outfit :lol:

I've also been in the House of Commons for Prime Ministers questions three times with three different Prime Ministers.
 

FrekeChild

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I got to meet Howard Dean, John Edwards, Wesley Clark and John Kerry when they were traveling the circuit during the 2004 election. Howard Dean is really short, and John Kerry is very tall.

My mom saw JFK about 5 minutes before he was shot when she left her office building to watch as they drove past.
 

distracts

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I've seen GWB many times. He came to my high school once. Then I went to SMU and was there when we got picked for his library. The dude doesn't have much to do so he hangs out on campus a lot, works out in the gym, etc. And then we've sat near him at Rangers games. I've never spoken to him, I guess I've had the opportunity because on campus you can always go up and say hi, but I don't really have anything to say to him.

I think it would be much cooler to see the queen, especially if she had some of that bling-bling on.
 

jess719

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When Clinton was campaigning for reelection, our high school band was chosen to play a welcome for him at the airport. Then he shook our hands. And....that's it. :) (We did not take off our gloves :lol: )
 

Trekkie

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jess719|1412310149|3761107 said:
When Clinton was campaigning for reelection, our high school band was chosen to play a welcome for him at the airport. Then he shook our hands. And....that's it. :) (We did not take off our gloves :lol: )

How dreadfully uncouth! No invitation to tea for you! :lol:
 

Modified Brilliant

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Cool question! As a college student and later a resident in New Hampshire, we had loads of candidates passing by...so I met and shook hands with Nancy and Ronald Reagan, Hillary and Bill Clinton, all met before they were President and First Lady. I remember listening to Bill and Hillary at a high school with a small crowd, no security and only one reporter from USA Today. They were very friendly and we talked for five minutes. It was actually more interesting chatting with Tom Brokaw on a street corner when he was just a weekend anchor. I'm old :cry:
 

ponder

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DH almost ran over GB senior with his bicycle while in college. He was on his way to meet me at symposium where GB and John Major were discussing the Gulf war. We took my Dad who is a history buff. It was very interesting.
 

Lady_Disdain

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GK2|1412272560|3760692 said:
I attended a garden party at Buckingham Palace in about 1991 -most of the British royal family were in attendance so I saw theQueen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles and Diana and other lesser members up very close. The Queen spoke to a couple next to me who were former members of the royal household and Diana spoke to a lady on the other side - I was mesmerised by what is now Catherine's ring :love:

I've also sat opposite the Queen at a church service celebrating an anniversary of the city I live in - she had the most amazing brooch on the sparkled away, but I was amused by the looks she kept giving to a politicians wife who was dressed in the most inappropriate outfit :lol:

I've also been in the House of Commons for Prime Ministers questions three times with three different Prime Ministers.

Do tell more! On pictures, it always looks inky black. Please tell me that it just photographs badly and that it is a beautiful blue.

Let's see. I got to meet Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and I saw Jimmy Carter as well. On the national front, I've seen two of our former presidents up close and avoided meeting another (yeah, names withheld to protect my political views).
 

Fly Girl

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I shook hands with Harry Truman. My parents and I were visiting the Truman Library on vacation, and I was just a toddler. Apparently, their backs were turned when they heard, "How are you, young lady?" and whirled around to see the former President leaning over and shaking my hand. Apparently, he kept an office at the Library and liked to pop over and greet visitors. My father remembers being a bit tongue-tied, because he was a life-long Republican and never liked the guy!

Earlier this year my husband and I visited Rome, and we took the opportunity to attend a Papal audience. We got pretty close, as you can see in my photo. He actually hugged and kissed the little girl standing next to us. Here he is receiving a hand-made card made of construction paper, ribbons and glitter, and he looked absolutely thrilled to get it. This guy is a real charmer.

pope_7394.jpg
 

LLJsmom

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Shook hands with President Bill Clinton, pre-Lewinsky... :lol:
 

craighnt

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Vice President Al Gore came to the the tech company I was working for back when he was acting Vice President. Whole thing was a big secret but HR new in advance because they suddenly did a walk through and announcement not to have any offensive material posted on the walls. The day of, we got about 1 hour notice and had to leave the building while the Secret Service sweeped the building for bombs. Then they had an armored limo next door with guards, also guys on the street with their guns drawn if you dared to cross and a sniper on the roof of the restaurant across the street.

I was not part of the chosen 30 out of 200 by the CEO allowed to meet him so I just walked down the street to get away from the mayhem for a slice of pizza. Then just as I am walking out the door, his car drives by right in front of me as he had chosen to make unannounced appearance. Quite a surprise. I expected this kind of security for a president, but I really had no idea how much security the Vice gets as well.

On a side note, our oh so benevolent CEO flat out lied to him, complaining he can't find enough technically experienced people in the US to fill the jobs, "our schools aren't producing the kind of skilled labor force we need"....meanwhile, the company laid off and closed down an entire department just the week prior! Ha, Ha, they went bankrupt just last year. :twisted:
 
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