Dinner is Served

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at a State Dinner

Waiters serving food during outdoor dinner (© WCA/AP)

Guests attend the state dinner honoring West German Chancellor Ludwig Erhard in the Rose Garden of the White House June 12, 1964. It was the first time such an event was held outdoors. (© WCA/AP)

Guests attend the state dinner honoring West German Chancellor Ludwig Erhard in the Rose Garden of the White House June 12, 1964. It was the first time such an event was held outdoors. (© WCA/AP)

Hot dogs (and beer)

King George VI, Franklin Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt, Queen Elizabeth and others attending a ceremony (© AP)

After being greeted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and first Lady Eleanor Roosevelt June 8, 1939, at Union Station in Washington, England’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth are given a 21-gun salute. (© AP)

After being greeted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and first Lady Eleanor Roosevelt June 8, 1939, at Union Station in Washington, England’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth are given a 21-gun salute. (© AP)

The unpretentious choice! In 1939, after President Franklin D. Roosevelt and first lady Eleanor Roosevelt hosted a state dinner at the White House for the U.K.’s King George VI and his wife, Queen Elizabeth, the presidential couple took the royals to the Roosevelt home in New York, where hot dogs and beer were on the menu. FDR’s mother, when she heard about it, was suitably horrified.

This site is managed by the Bureau of Global Public Affairs within the U.S. Department of State. External links to other internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.