Queen Elizabeth II shared scones, friendship with 5-star Gen. Dwight Eisenhower from Abilene

The late Queen Elizabeth II had an undeniable impact on much of the world. Less known, perhaps, was her impact on a young armed forces general from Abilene, Kansas.

When former President Dwight D. Eisenhower was supreme commander of allied forces in Europe during World War II, he had a strong working relationship with England’s prime minister at the time, Winston Churchill, and King George VI.

Eisenhower made regular visits to the king and his family throughout the war, becoming acquainted with the Royal Family through diplomacy.

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library's supervisory archivist, Jim Ginther, said Eisenhower and the Queen grew close over the years and had a special working relationship.

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“It became an interesting professional relationship because it began as a personal relationship,” Ginther said. “It evolved as both of them filled roles as heads of state in their respective countries.”

Ginther’s primary focus at the Eisenhower Presidential Library, located in Abilene, is to collect, preserve and make public records of the former president’s life. It’s a job he said he enjoys for many reasons, including being able to share stories of Eisenhower’s life that are less known.

Eisenhower's working relationship with Queen Elizabeth II

Eventually, Ginther said, Eisenhower and Queen Elizabeth’s working relationship began to spill over and affect countries beyond their own.

The 1959 opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway was a hallmark of their work together. It wasn’t the only project the two had a hand in together, but one with perhaps the greatest international influence,

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The idea for the Seaway dates back to the 1800s but didn’t become possible until Eisenhower signed into law the Wiley-Dander Seaway Act in 1954.

Correspondence between the two shows the Queen’s support of the act and what it would mean for international sea commerce.

The project created a larger canal between Lake Ontario and the Atlantic Ocean in an effort to make it possible for more sea traffic to make use of ports in Canada and the U.S.

The Seaway enabled large ships to sail directly from the Atlantic Ocean to Duluth, Minnesota, on the Great Lakes.

Eisenhower kept in touch with Queen Elizabeth II

Beyond the seaway opening, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip visited the White House once more while Eisenhower was in office in 1957.

Queen Elizabeth II’s mother also visited Eisenhower and the White House in 1954 and again in the 1960s.

Eisenhower kept up regular public correspondence with Queen Elizabeth II, from friendly exchanges of birthday messages, to New Years greetings and other messages back and forth for diplomatic head-of-state reasons.

But they also kept up a private correspondence. In one of the letters Eisenhower sent to Queen Elizabeth II, he asked for a recipe for “drop scones” that he had while visiting Balmoral Castle. The Queen, of course, obliged and sent him and his wife, Mamie Eisenhower, the recipe.

The return letter from the Queen began “Dear Mr. President, seeing a picture of you in today’s newspaper standing in front of a barbecue grilling quail reminded me that I had never sent you the recipe of the drop scones.”

Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower were so fond of Queen Elizabeth and her family that they sent her a wedding gift prior to her ever taking the throne.

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“There was a great letter that the Queen – at that time princess – Elizabeth (II) sent to the Eisenhower’s thanking them for a wedding gift,” Ginther said. “It was a silver ashtray that they sent to the Princess and Prince Phillip when they were married.”

“And what was interesting to me about that letter was how touched she was that they sent a gift like that … it was a gift similar to one they had sent to other friends. And it was given to them in that same spirit of friendship. I think that speaks something about the relationship and sense of tie between the two.”

Correspondence between the former president and Queen Elizabeth II can be seen at the Eisenhower Presidential Library

These correspondences and more, including the letter from Eisenhower’s collection and the drop scones recipe from the Queen’s kitchen, can be viewed at the Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene.

The library is part of the National Archives and Records Administration and aims to help the public access and explore the life of Eisenhower.

The Eisenhower Presidential Library is also home to a world-class research facility. The library consists of approximately 26 million pages of historical records and papers, 335,000 photographs, 768,000 feet of original film and 70,000 artifacts.

The facility also organizes public programs and exhibits, which are made possible in part through the Eisenhower Foundation.

Location:

400 SE 4th Street, Abilene, KS 67410

Phone:

(785) 263-6700

Hours of operation 

Museum Exhibits:

10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday

11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday

Research Room and Library Exhibits:

10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday-Friday

This article originally appeared on Salina Journal: Queen Elizabeth II shared scones, friendship with Dwight Eisenhower