Queen has last laugh in US

The Queen has got her own back on President George W Bush after he claimed she had been on the throne since 1776.

With a playful grin, the queen began a dinner toast to the President saying: "I wondered whether I should start this toast by saying, 'When I was here in 1776...'"

The 104 guests invited to the black-tie party at the home of British ambassador David Manning erupted in laughter.

Mr Bush laughed along and the queen smiled broadly before continuing with her text.

"Your Majesty, I can't top that one," Mr Bush reciprocated, at the beginning of his toast.

The President, no stranger to the occasional verbal gaffe, just barely stopped himself on Monday before dating the queen to 1776.

"You've helped our nation celebrate its bicentennial in 17.. in 1976," Mr Bush said as he talked about the Queen's long history of dealing with successive US governments.

Before catching a plane home, the Queen said she enjoyed the chance to dwell on the history and friendship between the US and Britain and thanked Americans for a warm welcome.

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