Ann Arbor, MI, May 6, 2026– The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library is pleased to announce a special event featuring New York Times best-selling author and the Washington Bureau chief of USA TODAY, Susan Page. Page will present a one-hour program about her new book, The Queen and Her Presidents: The Hidden Hand That Shaped History on May 21 at 6:30 p.m. at the Library, 1000 Beal Ave., Ann Arbor, MI.

Queen Elizabeth II met with President Ford at the White House – not to mention with four of his predecessors and eight of his successors. Indeed, she met with more U.S. presidents than any other person in history. What did she do with that unprecedented access? Quite a bit, journalist Susan Page discovered in her new book, published at the 100th anniversary of Elizabeth’s birth. 

The Queen, a deft diplomat and shrewd judge of character, was also the most effective force maintaining Great Britain’s voice in the world even as its empire declined. Join us for a look at how she did that during her long reign, and at her sunny encounter with the Fords during the Bicentennial celebration.

How fortuitous it is that we are opening an exhibit at the Museum entitled 'Waltzing with the Queen' around the same time as Ms. Page's latest book was published!,” said Brooke Clement, Director of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum. “It's certainly kismet, and I look forward to learning more about Queen Elizabeth and her relationships with fifteen U.S. Presidents!”

Page is the best-selling author of several biographies of formidable women, including The Rulebreaker: The Life and Times of Barbara Walters; Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power, and The Matriarch: Barbara Bush and the Making of an American Dynasty.

In 2024, Page covered her twelfth presidential election and is now covering her eighth White House administration. She has interviewed the past ten presidents (three after they left office), and she has served as president of the White House Correspondents Association and of the Gridiron Club, the oldest association of journalists in Washington. Among her awards are the White House Correspondents Association Award for Excellence in Presidential News Coverage Under Deadline Pressure; the Aldo Beckman Award for Overall Excellence in White House Coverage; the Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency, and the vice-presidential debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris.

Following the program, there will be a book signing and dessert reception.

The event is free and open to the public. Registration is encouraged: www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/events

If you are unable to attend in person we will be livestreaming the program on YouTube on May 22 at 6:30p.m.

About the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum Opened to the public in September 1981, the Gerald R. Ford Museum allows visitors to experience highlights from the lives of President Gerald Ford, the 38th President of the United States (1974–1977), and his wife, Betty Ford. The museum exhibits teach democratic citizenship and allow for quiet reflection. In addition to the permanent exhibits, changing temporary exhibits draw artifacts from partner museums nationwide. Part of the presidential library system of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), a federal agency, the Ford Museum is in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Ford Library is located on the north campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. For more information, visit www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov.

About the National Archives The National Archives and Records Administration is the nation's record keeper. It safeguards and manages the official records of the U.S. Government, ensuring the documentation of our nation's history. For more information, visit www.archives.gov.

About the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation fosters increased awareness of the life, career, values and legacy of America’s 38th President. It does so through activities designed to promote the high ideals of integrity, honesty, and candor that defined President Ford’s extraordinary career of public service. The Foundation promotes the ideals, values, commitment to public service and historical legacy of President Gerald R. Ford and further promotes greater civic engagement and recognition of integrity wherever it exists in the public arena. It supports permanent and changing exhibits designed to promote historical literacy; conferences; educational outreach and other programs, both scholarly and popular.