To royal watchers, state visits appear to be filled with pomp, ceremony and plenty of sparkling tiaras. But bringing world leaders and the Royal Family together doesn't always go quite so well, as explored in the latest episode of the Daily Mail's podcast "Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things." Some international guests at Buckingham Palace have caused a stir over the years, and royal biographer Robert Hardman and historian Kate Williams revealed one incident that caused Queen Elizabeth to lose her cool.
During an episode titled "Royal House Guests From Hell," Hardman shared that in 1973, the "shameless dictator" President Mobutu of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and his wife, Marie-Antoinette Mobutu, were invited to London on behalf of the British government. At the time, Britain was "very keen to get contracts for a new power station" Mobutu was planning to build.
In the 1970s, rabies was a major concern throughout Europe, but Britain had remained rabies-free. That meant a "strict quarantine" period of six months for animals brought into the country, as Williams noted. However, Mrs. Mobutu decided to sneak her dog into her luggage for the trip—and into Buckingham Palace.
Once the Mobutus were settled in the Belgian Suite at the palace, Marie-Antoinette called down to the kitchen and said, "Can I have a plate of raw meat, please," per Hardman. The staff member who delivered the unusual request saw Mrs. Mobutu feeding the meat to her dog and immediately told his boss, who sent the message up the chain of command—and one man had to "break the news" to Queen Elizabeth.
"This is a major diplomatic problem," Hardman said, adding that the couple had "flagrantly broken the laws of the land" by bringing a dog that "could potentially have rabies."
"The master of the household had to break the news to The Queen, and said afterwards that he'd never seen The Queen as angry," Hardman said, adding "several people" agreed that they'd never witnessed the late monarch get so "appalled."
Queen Elizabeth's response? "Get that dog out of my house."
The corgis were sent to Windsor Castle for their safety, and an unlucky member of staff had to take Mrs. Mobutu's dog to be quarantined for six months.
Hardman continued that "Mobutu himself tried to explain it away a couple of nights later" in a speech, pointing out that "the dog was actually from Britain in the first place" and that "his wife had merely wanted to show it its homeland."
To add insult to injury during the "dreadful visit," the Mobutus went home with roughly £1 million from the Foreign Office and "no contracts were ever signed." According to Hardman, "the money was never seen again, and Mobutu, in due course, was deposed."
