We're not so different, US first lady says of Queen, Prince Philip
LONDON (AFP) - US first lady Laura Bush admitted to being "slightly intimidated" by the grandeur of Buckingham Palace but said she and her husband had been put at ease when they discovered similarities between themselves and their hosts.
She told reporters that Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip had been gracious hosts and had made a middle-aged couple from Texas feel at home with their royal hospitality.
"I had a really good time being with both Her Majesty and His Royal Highness Prince Philip and the Prince of Wales, as well," Mrs Bush said.
"In many ways they tried to make us feel very comfortable and you can imagine that we're slightly intimidated," she said at the palace where she and US President George W. Bush are staying during their state visit to Britain.
"You can guess that someone from Texas might be a little amazed that they would find themselves staying at Buckingham Palace," she said.
Mrs Bush went on to say that she and the president had been pleasantly surprised to find they shared interests with the queen and the prince which had helped ease their nervousness.
"We like a lot of the same things," she said. "We have dogs that we love. We have two little horses on our ranch. So there are lots of things, a lot of similarities that we have."
The first lady also professed ignorance of the controversy surrounding a British tabloid newspaper's explosive revelation on Wednesday that one of its reporters had been able to get a job as a royal footman at the palace and worked there for two months prior to the state visit.
"I actually just read it in the newspaper," she said, adding that she didn't know if her husband had been told of the security breach which has led to an urgent review of palace hiring practices.
"If the president was informed, he failed to inform me," she said.
Asked whether she had been put off by large-scale protests against the visit and anti-American sentiment in Britain, Mrs Bush said she had seen many more pro-US demonstrators.
"I don't actually think the protests are near as large as everyone was predicting before we got here," she said, as a crowd estimated by police to be between 100,000 and 110,000 strong marched in protest.
"We've seen plenty of American flags. We've seen plenty of people who were waving to us, many, many more people, in fact than we've seen protestors."
LONDON (AFP) - US first lady Laura Bush admitted to being "slightly intimidated" by the grandeur of Buckingham Palace but said she and her husband had been put at ease when they discovered similarities between themselves and their hosts.
She told reporters that Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip had been gracious hosts and had made a middle-aged couple from Texas feel at home with their royal hospitality.
"I had a really good time being with both Her Majesty and His Royal Highness Prince Philip and the Prince of Wales, as well," Mrs Bush said.
"In many ways they tried to make us feel very comfortable and you can imagine that we're slightly intimidated," she said at the palace where she and US President George W. Bush are staying during their state visit to Britain.
"You can guess that someone from Texas might be a little amazed that they would find themselves staying at Buckingham Palace," she said.
Mrs Bush went on to say that she and the president had been pleasantly surprised to find they shared interests with the queen and the prince which had helped ease their nervousness.
"We like a lot of the same things," she said. "We have dogs that we love. We have two little horses on our ranch. So there are lots of things, a lot of similarities that we have."
The first lady also professed ignorance of the controversy surrounding a British tabloid newspaper's explosive revelation on Wednesday that one of its reporters had been able to get a job as a royal footman at the palace and worked there for two months prior to the state visit.
"I actually just read it in the newspaper," she said, adding that she didn't know if her husband had been told of the security breach which has led to an urgent review of palace hiring practices.
"If the president was informed, he failed to inform me," she said.
Asked whether she had been put off by large-scale protests against the visit and anti-American sentiment in Britain, Mrs Bush said she had seen many more pro-US demonstrators.
"I don't actually think the protests are near as large as everyone was predicting before we got here," she said, as a crowd estimated by police to be between 100,000 and 110,000 strong marched in protest.
"We've seen plenty of American flags. We've seen plenty of people who were waving to us, many, many more people, in fact than we've seen protestors."
