Woody Johnson reflects on Queen Elizabeth’s life and legacy following her death on ‘Kudlow.’
Queen Elizabeth II, who died Thursday at her Balmoral estate in Scotland, was a faithful steward of the special relationship between the United States and United Kingdom, said Woody Johnson, the former U.S. ambassador to the U.K. and current owner of the New York Jets.
Johnson, who was officially the United States Ambassador to the Court of St. James during the Trump administration, said Elizabeth notably loved America and thought highly of every president she had met – from President Truman to President Biden.
The late queen was still Princess Elizabeth when she engaged with Harry Truman at Blair House in Washington, D.C. in 1951, and Lyndon Johnson was the only U.S. president she was unable to meet during her reign.
“I think she realized, like many people, that the ‘special relationship’ between our two countries is the most important one that we have,” Woody Johnson told “Kudlow” on FOX Business.
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Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II raised a glass with US President Donald Trump during a state banquet in the ballroom at Buckingham Palace on June 3, 2019 (DOMINIC LIPINSKI//GETTY IMAGES / Getty Images)
“And she did everything she could as a servant to the British people to keep that relationship at the highest level.”
Johnson, who is the heir to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical empire founded by his namesake great-grandfather Robert Wood Johnson I, said when he was serving as ambassador he wouldn’t necessarily check in with the queen when making policy pronouncements, but added she was always present in the background of the transatlantic diplomacy.
“I wouldn’t do that, no. The monarchy is a different relationship than we have with our legislators or our executive branch or judiciary,” he told host Larry Kudlow.
The monarch of the U.K. no longer has the same governing authority their ancestors did, such as King George III during the American revolution, but instead serves as the head of state, while the prime minister is the head of the government.
With Elizabeth’s passing, King Charles III will be crowned monarch.
United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom Woody Johnson arrives to attend the annual Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey in London. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File / AP Images)
That role, however, never precluded Elizabeth from being an important figure and presence in British life
“During the jubilee and all the celebrations — particularly military celebrations at Westminster Abbey — very frequently she’d be celebrating something that could only have the dignity and have everybody’s attention if she was there – and she went,” he said.
“She worked very, very hard for the Commonwealth and the greatness of her country and our country,” Johnson added.
Former US ambassador to the UK Woody Johnson reflects on Queen Elizabeth’s life and Liz Truss stepping up as prime minister on ‘Kudlow.’
Queen Elizabeth devoted her life to the service of Britons, Johnson said, pointing to her participation as a volunteer mechanic and truck driver during World War II. He noted she also famously accompanied her father, King George VI, through the rubble of London following German Nazi attacks.
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New British Prime Minister Liz Truss makes an address outside Downing Street in London (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File / AP Newsroom)
That trip, he said, was made against the advice of her counselors, which proved her bravery and devotion to the U.K.
Having served with newly-minted Prime Minister Liz Truss when she was trade minister in the Boris Johnson government, Woody Johnson added he is confident as well in her term as the country’s leader.
Truss’ meeting with Elizabeth to form a government earlier this week was notable because it may have been the last such formal act the monarch engaged in.
“Liz Truss is going to be, I think, terrific. I worked with her when I was over there — I saw a lot of her, particularly in trade,” he said.
“We tried to get a US-UK free trade agreement which would have been absolutely terrific and we just ran out of time, unfortunately. But she’s been in so many parts of the government and done well on each one of them. But she has a hard task.”
