Barack Obama’s 2011 state visit to London left behind more than polished speeches and diplomatic handshakes, it also produced one of those dry, razor-sharp Queen Elizabeth II moments that courtiers and politicians never forgot.In Power and the Palace, a new book by royal author Valentine Low serialized in The Times, the late monarch is quoted asking then–Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne to do the unthinkable: politely tell the President of the United States that it was time to call it a night.“Will you tell President Obama it’s time to go to bed?” the Queen reportedly whispered to Osborne as the state banquet carried on past midnight.Osborne admits he froze. “I could see Obama surrounded by this big crowd. Am I supposed to go and tell him to go to bed?” he recalled. Ultimately, the Queen’s private secretary Christopher Geidt stepped in, assuring the flustered minister, “We are handling the situation, Chancellor.”The anecdote paints a vivid picture of Elizabeth II’s sharp humor and no-nonsense pragmatism, qualities that defined her reign as much as her tiaras. Low’s book also delves into weightier matters, claiming the Queen once expressed quiet skepticism about Brexit, telling a minister, “It’s better to stick with the devil you know.” But for many, it’s the image of the world’s most powerful woman, weary of late-night pleasantries, hinting that even the leader of the free world needed to mind the clock, that best captures her unmatched style.
