Five ways the queen influenced American culture, from presidential visits to memes
Queen Elizabeth II of England died Thursday, Sept. 8, at 96, but the influence of her 70-year reign was felt by Americans through presidential meetings and even memes.
Here are five ways she made waves in the U.S.
Millions learned her life story through ‘The Crown’
The story of Queen Elizabeth’s life, from the early death of her father to the vast change she witnessed over a 70-year reign, might not have been the big history lesson in American classrooms as it was for the Brits.
But millions came to know Her Majesty’s life through Netflix.
The queen is the central figure in one of the platform’s most popular TV dramas, “The Crown,” which follows her life from childhood to early reign and into the 21st century.
The historical drama series has had four seasons and will reportedly end after six. Claire Foy and Olivia Colman, who played Elizabeth II in different stages of her life, both won Emmy awards for their portrayal.
Michelle Obama broke protocol to hug her
In 2009, Michelle Obama reportedly broke protocol when she put her arm around the queen for an embrace at a meeting at Buckingham Palace, reported BBC.
In her memoir, “Becoming,” the first lady wrote she had commiserated with Her Majesty about their sore feet — they were “two tired ladies oppressed by our shoes.”
Andy Warhol turned her into pop art
The American pop art icon Andy Warhol was famous for his colorful Campbell’s Soup cans and Marilyn Monroe prints, but the queen was also the subject of the artist’s work.
Warhol allegedly once said, “I want to be as famous as the Queen of England.”
His portfolio from 1985 featured the queen, according to the Royal Collection Trust, and was made from a 1977 photograph from her Silver Jubilee.
She was also the queen of memes
For a woman of 96, Elizabeth II was a staple of the internet.
Pictures and videos of her facial expressions and banter at public events often prompted memes on social media to go viral — like the time she cut a cake with a sword or when she was visibly delighted to see a herd of cows.
But maybe most iconic to Americans and the world was when she and Daniel Craig (who played James Bond) made a gag of the 2012 London Olympics entrance with a stunt double where it appeared the queen had jumped out of a helicopter and into the stadium with a Union Jack parachute.
Her infamous meeting with JFK and Jackie
John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jackie, visited Buckingham Palace for the first time in June 1961 for a banquet dinner, and it wasn’t without controversy.
Two iconic women of their time, Jackie and Queen Elizabeth were close in age — as one dramatic episode in “The Crown” pointed out.
After the event, Jackie allegedly told a friend she found the party guests boring, according to Town & Country, and that Prince Philip was “nice but nervous” while the queen was “pretty heavy-going.”
The queen met 13 U.S. presidents in her lifetime, according to NBC News. Lyndon B. Johnson, who became president after Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, was the only president among the last 14 she did not.
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