The Queen Visits the White House

The Queen was honoured with a 21-gun salute as she met President George W Bush in Washington DC on the final leg of her US visit.

Standing outside the White House, the Queen said Britain and America had a "close and enduring" friendship.

The president said the Queen was "a good person, a strong leader and a great ally".

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Later the Queen will be guest of honour at a state banquet and will visit the Children's National Medical Centre.

The state visit has included trips to the site of the first permanent English settlement in the US and the famous Kentucky Derby horse race.

On her fifth visit to America, the Queen reflected on how "the stories of our two countries have been inextricably woven together".

She called the US a "great nation" and said it was time to "take stock of our present friendship".

"It is the time to look forward, jointly renewing our commitment to a more prosperous, safer and freer world," she added.

Mr Bush, meanwhile, joked with the Queen after making a mistake in his speech.

He said: "You helped our nation celebrate its bicentennial in 17... 1976" , and then joked the Queen had given him "a look that only a mother could give a child".