So The New York Times has been pondering: "How does George W Bush, a towel-snapping Texan who puts his feet on the coffee table, drinks water straight from the bottle and was once caught on tape talking with food in his mouth, prepare for a state dinner with the Queen?" Well, this week we found out.

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Here's how one British press covered the stroy: "When you've just made it sound like the Queen is more than 200 years old, there may be a few ways of recovering from the gaffe.
But turning to her and giving her a sly wink is probably not included in any book of royal etiquette.
Is he winking at One? The President turns to the Queen and winks after his slip-up
That's what happened yesterday after George Bush mangled his greeting to the Queen on her state visit to the U.S.
Stumbling over his words, he came perilously close to suggesting that the monarch had toured the States in 1776.
And although the President's following wink was initially rewarded with a regal glare, the Queen did at least seem to see the funny side of the blunder."

But, you have to give props to the Queen. At the toast at the whitehouse state dinner, she began with, "Mr. President, I wondered whether I should start this toast saying, 'When I was here in 1776" -- (laughter and applause.)'"

When we look back on this presidency, at least we'll have these endearing moments to remember.