True or false. U.S. President Bush is the first American president to make a state visit to Britain?

True, says Buckingham Palace.

False, say the White House and State Department, although they have a bit of a quarrel themselves.

The differences appear to hinge on the intricacies of protocol standards and how rigidly the rules are interpreted.

One assertion that is unchallenged is that Queen Elizabeth II has met every American president from Harry Truman to George Bush — 11 in all — during her reign, which began in February, 1952.

Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan's visit to London in 1982, complete with an address to Parliament and a horseback ride with the queen, was a state visit, according to a record of presidential trips on the State Department's Web site.

No it wasn't, the White House and Buckingham Palace agree. Reagan's trip had most of the trappings of a state visit, a U.S. protocol officer said, "but there must have been some box that wasn't checked. The palace has a much more rigid protocol than we ever would." The palace says Reagan was the queen's guest at Windsor Castle.

The White House and Buckingham Palace disagree about Woodrow Wilson's 1918 visit when he came to Europe after the end of World War I and spent several days at Buckingham Palace.

It was a state visit, the White House said Tuesday. The palace stuck to its guns that Bush's is the first state visit.

___

On the Net:

Britain's Buckingham Palace: http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page1729.asp

US State Department: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/trvl/pres/

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