So what happened between Jimmy Carter and the Queen Mother, that left, per ABC News, Queen Elizabeth II with "a grudge against Carter for years"? Welp, the big mistake was Carter going in for a kiss.
According to BBC America, the royal smooch-in-question happened in 1977, the year Carter was elected to the highest office in the U.S. According to the outlet, the 39th president had already met Queen Elizabeth II before; in Washington, D.C. in 1976 when she visited America for the bicentennial celebrations (200 years since America got its freedom). But in 1977, Carter made his first trip overseas as president, per BBC America, when Buckingham Palace hosted "a dinner for NATO leaders." And that's when it happened. When it came time for Carter to say hello, he not only crossed the pond, but crossed the line. He, per ABC News, "declined to bow" and instead famously gave the Queen Mother, who died in 2002, a... kiss on the lips.
"I took a sharp step backwards — not quite far enough," the Queen Mother commented afterwards, per BBC America. "Nobody has done that since my husband died," she added, according to to Express. Eek! The outlet noted that "while there are no obligatory ways to greet the Queen and the Royal Family," usually a bow or handshake will do. Apparently, not for Jimmy Carter! Awkward...
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