By Ray Hill
The fascination with royal families is hardly new. I well remember just how many people were caught up in the wedding of Prince Charles to Diana Spencer. Like every capital of a civilized country, Washington, D.C. has a vibrant social life and the visit of King George VI and his queen, Elizabeth, to the United States captivated much of the country. Those folks who have watched The Crown on Netflix realize their daughter is Queen Elizabeth II.
The invitation to visit America had come from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and it was heralded throughout the media of the day for no reigning British monarch had ever trod on American soil. The United States and Great Britain had something of a checkered history since the Colonies broke away from the British Empire. The Capitol still carries scars from the War of 1812 when President James Madison and First Lady Dolly Madison had to flee before British troops burned down the White House. Relations between the