PM and Queen will have many memories to share

Trudeau’s father and the monarch grew to like and respect each other

When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets Queen Elizabeth in London this week, it will be the renewal of an acquaintance that neither of them may remember too well.

Justin was a child when his father was prime minister and responsible for greeting the Queen on her occasional visits to the capital. Meeting dignitaries of one sort or another became old hat to young Justin early in life. As for the Queen, she has met a lot of small children during her long reign.

But at least on the subject of Justin’s dad, they can bond.

The abiding public image of Pierre Trudeau and the Queen is the iconic pirouette photo in which Trudeau, in an apparent act of disrespect, twirled behind Her Majesty’s back during a G7 conference in London in 1977.

According to Pierre Trudeau’s aide, Jim Coutts, Trudeau had rehearsed the pirouette to show his objection to Buckingham Palace protocol that separated heads of state from heads of government such as himself.

If the Queen was offended, there is no evidence of it. To the contrary, initial mutual skepticism eventually melted, and the Queen and Pierre Trudeau grew to like and respect each other.

If Justin Trudeau and Queen Elizabeth choose to reminisce, she might recall the little-known story of the late evening drinks she shared with his mother and father.

It was during a royal visit in the 1970s. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh had retired at the end of a long day to their rooms at Rideau Hall, and Trudeau, with his wife Margaret, headed in the opposite direction to 24 Sussex Drive.

Later that evening, a surprise call came to Sussex Drive from Rideau Hall asking if Mr. and Mrs. Trudeau would mind if Her Majesty popped over for a nightcap.

According to Margaret, the three had drinks while a shoeless and very amusing Queen regaled them with stories and they all laughed late into the night.

Justin Trudeau was a small child and on that particular royal visit was presumably fast asleep in bed.