While most would agree that the Iran Hostage Crisis was Jimmy Carter's greatest flub, it turns out that the Queen Mother had a different opinion — and it all has to do with what he did to her during his first official visit to the UK.
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00:00While most would agree that the Iran hostage crisis was Jimmy Carter's greatest flub,
00:04it turns out that the Queen Mother had a different opinion,
00:06and it all has to do with what he did to her during his first official visit to the U.K.
00:11Just four months into what would end up being his only term,
00:14Carter flew across the pond to attend the annual G7 Summit in London.
00:18Because Queen Elizabeth's Silver Jubilee, a celebration of her 25th year on the throne,
00:22was happening at the same time, all visiting world leaders were invited to attend a banquet
00:26at Buckingham Palace. Everything went fine until it came time for Carter to part ways
00:31with the royal family. This was when he allegedly kissed the Queen Mother directly on the lips
00:36before leaving.
00:37Wow, that was a little too far there."
00:39While there are surely photos and videos of the event,
00:42no press member was lucky enough to actually capture this specific moment.
00:46The only thing we see in the footage from that evening is a smiling Jimmy Carter
00:49standing there with the Queen Mother and others as they line up for a formal portrait.
00:53Words are spoken between them, but it's impossible to decipher what they're actually
00:57saying to each other. Ultimately, the world would not find out about the mini-scandal
01:01until years later when a newspaper article detailed an anti-toast the Queen Mother had
01:05made during a dinner party at her London residence. According to an unnamed guest,
01:09the toast was directed at people she wasn't particularly fond of, and Carter was one of them.
01:14When asked by the guest why she wasn't a fan of him, she reportedly responded,
01:18Because he is the only man since my dear husband died to have had the effrontery to
01:22kiss me on the lips. This apparently wasn't the only time the Queen Mother spoke of the
01:26alleged kiss. As detailed in her official 2009 biography, royal biographer William Shawcross
01:32claimed to have talked with her about the incident at one point. During the conversation,
01:36she described how she had taken a sharp step backwards when Carter leaned in,
01:40and that it hadn't been enough to stop him. It goes without saying that this account definitely
01:44holds a bit more water than that of the unnamed dinner guest who spoke to the press about the
01:48Queen Mother's alleged anti-toast. So what did the man himself have to say about it all?
01:52According to Carter, the kiss did actually happen, but not the way the press initially detailed it.
01:57In his autobiography, he attempted to set things straight, clarifying that he, quote,
02:01lightly kissed her on the cheek. He went on to write,
02:04More than two years later, there were reports in the British papers that grossly distorted this
02:08event, stating that I had deeply embarrassed her with excessive familiarity. I was distressed by
02:13these reports but couldn't change what had happened, nor did I regret it.
02:17Whether it was placed on the lips or on the cheek, just how extreme of a breach of etiquette was the
02:21kiss? While a bow would not have been necessary when meeting the Queen Mother, a simple handshake
02:26certainly would have sufficed. Being that both the Queen Mother and Carter have now both passed away,
02:30it looks as though we'll never really know exactly what happened between them.
02:34All we know for sure is that many world leaders have likely used Carter's etiquette mistake as
02:38a vicarious learning experience. If anyone were to do the same to Queen Camilla, they'd have no
02:42one to blame but themselves for the ensuing controversy.