Prime Minister Winston Churchill was staying at the White House as a guest of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. They had been discussing their vision for a new-and-improved League of Nations that would help secure the post-war peace. The President had a sudden inspiration for a name for this organization — the United Nations. He was excited to share this thought with Churchill and wheeled himself down the hall to The Prime Minister’s room. Upon knocking at the door, he heard Churchill’s invitation to enter, so he did.
What FDR was not prepared for was the sight of Winston Churchill in the buff. The portly statesman had recently bathed and was accustomed to doing some of his best thinking as he paced back and forth in the nude.
Embarrassed, the President turned to leave, but was stopped by Churchill, who threw his arms wide and said, “The Prime Minister of His Majesty’s government has nothing to hide from the President of the United States!”
Upon his return to London, Churchill briefed King George VI about his trip to Washington, DC, and noted, “I may possibly be the only man in the world to have received the head of a nation naked.”
Categories: Eccentrics, Government, History, Military and Warfare, Presidents, US History
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