Bill Clinton turned down tea with the Queen to 'be a tourist' and eat Indian food
CNN
Former US President Bill Clinton declined offers of tea with Queen Elizabeth and dinner at the British Prime Minister's official country house because he wanted to "be a tourist," go shopping and eat Indian food during his first official visit to the UK with Tony Blair as leader in 1997, according to formerly classified documents.
Downing Street was "pulling out all the stops" to ensure Clinton's May 1997 visit -- made between trips to summits in The Hague and Paris -- was a "public relations success," according to memos between Dominick Chilcott, assistant private secretary to the foreign secretary, and John Holmes, Blair's principal private secretary. The documents have been released by the UK's National Archives.More Related News