Michelle Obama makes three surprising admissions about Queen Elizabeth II: ‘No…

Michelle Obama has shared the three key takeaways from her encounter with Queen Elizabeth II.

The former first lady, who is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures globally since her husband Barack Obama’s presidency from 2009-2017, has had her fair share of meetings with high-profile figures. The Obamas rubbed shoulders with world leaders, royals and other big personalities during their White House residence.

And the Harvard law graduate confessed that her visit to the late Queen was an exceptionally surreal experience. When asked about the celebrity who left her most starstruck during an appearance on Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce, Obama said: “The list is endless, but the first person that comes to mind is Her Majesty, the Queen.

It’s the Queen. The first time I met her, I was at her house, at Buckingham Palace, and the monarchy is all that. You pull up to Buckingham Palace and it is a palace, and this is what you’ve seen your whole life. Me and Barack, we’re walking in, and we’re kind of the honored guests.”

While the encounter might have been a dream-come-true moment for the then-first lady, she detailed how she managed to establish a connection with the Queen. Her second insight was that the extensive list of protocols followed by Royal advisors didn’t necessarily apply to the monarch herself, reports Aberdeen Live.

She added: “What I learned early on in those first interactions with the Queen was how protocol is really the thing that other people force on you and people in these high places are really trying to connect. You get all these rules about what to say, what not to do, where to stand and where not to stand.

“But you’re just trying to connect, and I felt that from her as well. That there was a level of, ‘Oh my God, with the protocol, we’re just people trying to connect’. Her level of generosity towards me and my family, there were a lot of things that happened off the record on prior visits that were just generous, gracious courtesies.

Recognising my mom and the girls in ways that it was not about what was on camera.” Elaborating on the Queen’s kindness, Obama recounted a special moment when the Royal extended an invitation to her family during a low-key trip to London.

She explained: “She hosted us once when we were in London, just sort of on a girls’ family vacation. We didn’t make an announcement, but the palace heard that we were in the country and invited us over for an afternoon, hanging out in the palace.

“The girls were really little. They got to see the gold room and ride a carriage around the rose garden with nobody else there in Buckingham Palace.
Everyone was so gracious, and they offered us a tea party. Who walks down with her purse? Its’s Her Majesty.

“There was absolutely no reason why she would have to to take time out of her day to come down and sit with me, my mom, my daughters, like it was a regular visit.”

She was evidently moved by the experience, adding: “That was a model for me. Remembering that in these high places, you have to be human and have these human moments because people are often so starstruck that if you don’t help them shake out of that moment, they don’t get the most out of the moment.”