A royal occasion in the capital

For once, the crowds that gathered Monday outside the White House were not carrying antiwar placards or shouting angry slogans. Instead, on a sunny spring day that contrasted with the dark mood of partisan discord that normally clouds Washington, they cheered loudly for President Bush and for the regal woman by his side, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

A large crowd that included about 370 children from a local charter school and the British School of Washington gathered in front of the White House, hoping for a glimpse of the president and his royal visitor. When they appeared, and even ventured outside the tall fence, the screams evoked those that typically greet the latest teen heartthrob.

“I was just so excited,” said Shayla Young, a 14-year-old eighth-grader at IDEA Charter School, who got close enough to hug Bush, shouted “Oh my God! Aaaaah!” and then did a faux faint behind a railing.

Agreed Bob Brooks, a retired federal employee: “Americans are so impressed with royalty.”

Gone, at least for the day, were the tense encounters between Bush and Democratic leaders of Congress, tussling over the war and economic priorities.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) was a guest at the gala state dinner Monday night, though Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) declined his invitation because, his spokesman said, “he’s not really a white tails and dinner sort of guy and would just as soon spend a nice quiet dinner with his wife.”

In place of political standoffs was a pageant of pomp and circumstance, full of such moments as the Army’s Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps parading on the South Lawn in uniforms patterned after those of George Washington’s Continental Army.

‘In 17 -- in 1976’

In the morning, the queen was welcomed to the White House with an official arrival ceremony as thousands of invited guests cheered; in the evening, she was feted with a five-course, white-tie dinner -- the first of the Bush administration -- in the State Dining Room, with more than 800 white roses capping elegant tables swathed in cream damask and set with gilded silver.

Even the president -- a self-described down-home Texan who prefers barbecue to chateaubriand and had to be persuaded by his wife and his secretary of State to don white tie and tails for the night -- seemed to revel in the respite from controversy. He was grinning broadly after he escorted the queen across Lafayette Park to Blair House, the official guest house where she and her husband, Prince Philip, are staying during their two-day visit.

“The American people are proud to welcome Your Majesty back to the United States, a nation you’ve come to know very well,” Bush said during the South Lawn arrival ceremony. Noting that she has dined with 10 U.S. presidents, he thanked the queen for the trip in which “you helped our nation celebrate its bicentennial in 17 -- in 1976.”

About 7,000 flag-waving Americans and Brits laughed as Bush recovered from his flub. Giving the queen an “aw-shucks” grin, he ad-libbed, “She gave me a look that only a mother could give a child.”

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow was delighted. “It’s a pretty cool day, you know?” he said. “The pageantry -- and there you saw the president joking with the queen -- I don’t know that a lot of people joke with the queen, but the president did. It worked out just fine.”

Pulling out the stops

Despite the aura of goodwill that washed over the day, dissension over Iraq policy was never far away. Bush alluded to the war in his welcoming remarks, noting that “American and British forces are staying on the offense against the extremists and terrorists.” For her part, the queen said that a state visit offered “a brief opportunity to step back from our current preoccupations to reflect on the very essence of our relationship.”

But for all the talk of alliances and enemies, the White House pulled out all the stops to ensure that, perhaps for the first time since Democrats won control of Congress in November, the White House oozed with a sunny optimism.

“We’ve done everything we can think of to do to make it really a wonderful evening for her,” Laura Bush told ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “And I know the American people are thrilled that she’s here in the United States. It’s a happy occasion.”

Guests for the dinner included Calvin Borel, the winning jockey in this year’s Kentucky Derby, which the queen attended Saturday; Peyton Manning, quarterback for the Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts; and former first lady Nancy Reagan. The after-dinner entertainment was provided by violinist Itzhak Perlman and the U.S. Army Chorus.

Mrs. Bush wore an aqua strapless gown with matching beaded bolero jacket designed by Oscar de la Renta. The last time she wore de la Renta, she walked into a White House reception for the Kennedy Center Honors only to discover three other women wearing the same red gown. This time, she stood apart.

Toasts to a friendship

The queen’s popularity -- CNN reported that Americans give her an 80% approval rating -- seemed to buoy Bush, whose approval rating dipped below 30% in a recent Newsweek poll.

In his toast at the dinner, Bush noted that “our two nations are working together for the common good,” including “supporting young democracies in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

“Friendships remain strong when they are continually renewed,” he said. “We’re confident that Anglo-American friendship will endure for centuries to come.”

For her part, the queen cited the importance of the alliance in having helped Britain and the rest of Europe rebound from the ravages of World War II. Today, she said, the two nations face “different threats and new problems, both at home and abroad,” including terrorism, global poverty and climate change.

“Divided, all alone, we can be vulnerable” to these issues, she said. “But if the Atlantic unites, not divides us, ours is a partnership always to be reckoned with in the defense of freedom and the spread of prosperity.”

Political experts expect the aura of goodwill to wilt by morning, along with the roses on each of the 13 tables in the East Room.

“Queen Elizabeth is no Princess Diana,” said Samuel Popkin, a political scientist at UC San Diego. “The respite will have no carry-over -- no longer-term halo or blessing.”

Amid talk that Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah recently canceled a planned dinner at the White House -- the Saudis say the king’s visit was delayed for scheduling reasons -- Popkin said, “Queen Elizabeth gets better initial press. Abdullah might have actually helped with the war.”

johanna.neuman@latimes.com

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Guest list

Cmdr. Heber Ackland, Royal Navy, equerry in waiting to the queen.

The Countess of Airlie, lady in waiting.

Leonore Annenberg, former U.S. chief of protocol, and Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.).

Anne Armstrong, former U.S. ambassador to Britain, and James L. Armstrong.

Lee M. Bass, Lee M. Bass Inc., and Ramona Bass

Sid R. Bass, president, Sid R. Bass Inc., and Mercedes Bass.

Margaret Beckett, British secretary of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs, and Leo Beckett.

Rep. John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), House minority leader, and Deborah Boehner.

Joshua Bolten, White House chief of staff, and Analouise C. Bolten.

Calvin Borel, jockey, winner of the Kentucky Derby, and Lisa Funk.

Katherine E. Boyd, Katherine E. Boyd Interior Design, and Eva Elkins.

Miss Barbara Bush and Jay Blount.

Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida, and Columba Bush.

Elizabeth L. Cheney and Philip J. Perry, partner, Latham & Watkins.

Vice President Dick Cheney and Lynne V. Cheney.

James Click, president, Jim Click Ford Inc., and Carrie Click.

John Danilovich, CEO, Millennium Challenge Corp., and Irene Danilovich.

Rohan De Silva, pianist.

Marta Domingo, wife of Maestro Placido Domingo.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.

Donald L. Evans, CEO, Financial Services Forum, and Susan Evans.

William S. Farish, former U.S. ambassador to Britain, and Sarah Farish.

Fred Fielding, counsel to the president, and Maria Fielding.

Brad Freeman, general partner, Freeman Spogli & Co.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Becky Gates.

Christopher Geidt, deputy private secretary to the queen.

Martin Gilbert, historian, and Esther Gilbert.

David Gregory, NBC News correspondent, and Beth Wilkinson.

National security advisor Stephen J. Hadley and Mrs. Robert Hadley.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck, co-host of “The View,” and Tim Hasselbeck, professional football player.

Peter Hayes, principal private secretary to Britain’s secretary of state.

Steven Holland, Reuters correspondent, and Lucie Holland.

Ray L. Hunt, chairman of the board, president and CEO, Hunt Consolidated Inc., and Hunter L. Hunt, president, Hunt Power L.P.

Brig. Miles Hunt-Davis, private secretary to Prince Philip.

Robin Janvrin, private secretary to the queen.

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns and Stephanie Johanns.

Clay Johnson III, deputy director for management, Office of Management and Budget, and Anne S. Johnson, director, arts in embassies program, State Department.

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and Patricia Kempthorne.

Richard D. Kinder, chairman and CEO, Kinder Morgan Inc., and Nancy Kinder, president, Kinder Foundation.

Henry A. Kissinger, former secretary of State, and Nancy Kissinger.

Herbert V. Kohler Jr., chairman and president, Kohler Co., and Natalie B. Kohler.

Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and Tricia Lott.

David Manning, British ambassador to the United States, and Catherine M. Manning.

Peyton Manning, professional football player, and Ashley Manning.

John Marion, honorary chairman, Sotheby’s North America, and Anne Marion.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Labor Secretary Elaine Chao.

Charles B. Moncrief and Kit Moncrief.

Jim Nantz, CBS sportscaster, and Ann-Lorraine Nantz.

Joseph J. O’Donnell, CEO, Boston Culinary Group, and Katherine O’Donnell.

Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Lynne Pace.

Arnold Palmer, professional golfer, and Kathleen Palmer.

Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. and Wendy Paulson.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Paul Pelosi.

A. Jerrold Perenchio, chairman and CEO, Chartwell Partners, and Margie Perenchio.

Itzhak Perlman, violinist, and Toby Lynn Perlman.

Boone Pickens, BP Capital LLC, and Madeleine Pickens.

Colin L. Powell, former secretary of State, and Alma Powell.

Earl A. Powell III, director, National Gallery of Art, and Nancy Powell.

Nancy Reagan, former first lady.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Gene A. Washington, director of football operations, National Football League.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Jane Sullivan Roberts.

Robin Roberts, ABC.

Penny Russell-Smith, press secretary to the queen.

Michael Sacco, president, Seafarers International Union, and Sophie Sacco.

Gerry Shaheen, group president, Caterpillar, and Pam Shaheen.

George P. Shultz, former secretary of State, and Charlotte Shultz.

Harold C. Simmons, chairman, Valhi Inc., and Annette Simmons.

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow and Jill Ellen Snow.

Education Secretary Margaret Spellings and Robert Spellings.

Capt. David Swain, medical officer to the queen.

Robert Tuttle, U.S. ambassador to Britain, and Maria Tuttle.

Mark Vincent, brother to Lynne Cheney, and Linda Vincent.

Richard Wolffe, Newsweek, and Paula Cuello.

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Source: Associated Press