1 month ago
In nan lead-up to past Prince Charles’s first official White House visit 56 years ago, nan Washington Post published a communicative headlined: Baseball: A Guide for Royal Visitors.
“Prince Charles and Princess Anne of England will be a shot crippled erstwhile they travel to America adjacent month. No doubt, their Royal Highnesses will beryllium baffled by nan full thing,” wrote Henry Owen successful a 21 June 1970 story. “They will beryllium excessively polite to opportunity so, but later on, successful nan privateness of nan embassy, they will astir apt inquire their attendants: ‘Why do group spell to shot games?’”
Owen wasn’t excessively acold off, arsenic Prince Charles did look baffled arsenic he took successful a Washington Senators crippled astatine RFK stadium. Luckily for Charles, now nan king of UK, he will not person to repetition nan experience, because Washington’s shot team, now nan Nationals, will beryllium playing successful New York during his sojourn to Washington this week.
On Saturday 18 July 1970, Charles, 21, and his sister, Anne, 19, saw nan American League’s last-place Senators big nan California Angels astatine Robert F Kennedy Memorial stadium. With them were Richard Nixon’s daughters, Julie and Tricia, and Julie’s husband, David Eisenhower, grandson of erstwhile president Dwight D Eisenhower. That summer, David Eisenhower was moving successful nan Senators’ beforehand office.
The Nixon family members hosted nan royals for nan trip, and that morning, they visited nan Patuxent Center for Wildlife Research and Propagation of Endangered Animal Species, wherever Charles asked respective questions astir America’s biology movement. The travel besides included visits to Capitol Hill, museums and Camp David.
At nan ballpark, nan 4 sat correct down nan dugout, successful nan basking sun.
“The shot crippled was not very good planned actually, and I would opportunity this was not 1 of Prince Charles’s highlights,” Eisenhower recalled successful an question and reply pinch nan Guardian. “First of all, I had to explicate nan crippled to him; he didn’t cognize thing astir it. And second, this was mid-July, and successful nan afternoon, truthful you tin ideate really basking it was. Third, nan crowd was sparse. They didn’t beforehand nan thought that Charles was going to beryllium there, astir apt for information reasons.” The Senators, who drew mini crowds and would time off for Texas aft nan 71 season, had only astir 8,500 fans astatine nan game, astir 1,500 beneath their mean attendance.
“So it felt benignant of quiet and past fourth, it was a pitcher’s duel,” Eisenhower added. “How tin you explicate nan crippled if you’re watching a shutout? And truthful nan full point was stressful and I deliberation astir apt he didn’t bask it that much, but he was a very bully guy.”
The Post reported that “the VIP statement baked successful Washington’s relentless July sun for only an inning. Then, apparently connected nan proposal of Charles, they transferred to a roofed section container for nan adjacent four. They near aft 8 hits, adjacent to nary excitement, 2 unearned Senators runs, and nan thermometer registered 91 degrees”.
Charles appeared confused by nan sport’s rules, wondering why a foul shot deed by Washington slugger Mike Epstein into nan stands wasn’t a location run.
As nan New York Times recounted, Eisenhower “explained nan differences betwixt hits and strikes, walks and runs arsenic nan statement sat successful container seats and later successful nan shaded mezzanine astatine Robert F. Kennedy Stadium”.
Epstein, nan Senators’ second-best hitter that season, told nan Times that nan royals looked “very British. I’d opportunity he’s sitting pretty. I’d for illustration to person his money. A prestigious guy, but you gotta beryllium erstwhile you’re sitting connected that throne.”
For visitors taking successful their first game, a location tally is astir apt nan astir breathtaking play to witness, and nan crippled did characteristic 1 homer. But by nan clip Washington’s Aurelio Rodríguez smashed his complete nan left-field wall successful nan eighth inning, nan royals had agelong gone.
“Charles appeared very studious passim nan game, won by Washington, 4 to 0,” nan Post reported. “He smiled only erstwhile nan Senators scored and erstwhile a instrumentality made a cleanable drawback of a precocious foul into nan precocious deck.” The insubstantial reported that some Charles and Anne were “apparently amazed by nan playing of nan British nationalist anthem – aft nan American – earlier nan game. Both stood stiffly done it, but did not singing nan words.”
Charles sat adjacent to Tricia, 24, a time aft they danced together astatine a White House supper. In a 2021 CNN interview, Charles recalled: “That was rather amusing, I must say. That was nan clip erstwhile they were trying to wed maine disconnected to Tricia Nixon.” (She coiled up getting joined to Edward Cox nan pursuing June).
It besides happened to beryllium camera time astatine nan ballpark, a promotion that allowed children successful attendance pinch a “Brownie Hawkeye” to photograph their favourite players.
“If Charles was aghast astatine nan numbers of photographers who greeted him astatine nan White House Thursday, he couldn’t person picked a time erstwhile much shutterbugs would beryllium astatine a shot game,” nan Post observed. Many of nan kids “saved a mates of shots for nan prince and princess, but were politely turned distant by nan Secret Service. However, galore players took their ain photos pinch their ain cameras.”
After nan game, Charles met pinch Nixon for much than an hr astatine nan White House, wherever they discussed issues including nan environment, young peoples’ attitudes and world organization challenges. Then they had a farewell meal pinch nan Nixon family.
When they said goodbye, Nixon, a immense shot fan, urged Charles to “come spot different Senators’ game; it’s nan first 1 they’ve won successful 4 days”.
The Washington Post’s Owen ended his shot guideline for royal visitors pinch an acknowledgment that baseball’s lure is difficult to quantify.
“The plain truth is that baseball, for illustration nan British monarchy, is simply a substance of contented and sentiment which is difficult to explain,” he wrote. “Perhaps that is why some institutions person survived and why it’s arsenic difficult to deliberation of America without shot arsenic it is to deliberation of nan United Kingdom without a monarch.”
