A Duchess and a President

It was a very cold night a long time ago. The Duchess of Devonshire was entering her thoughts in her diary. She and her husband were in Washington as Guests of the Kennedy family.

It was the 20^th of January, 1961. The occasion -Jack Kennedy's inauguration.

The Duchess had had a very full day. The swearing in at the capitol, the march-past at the White House, and, the ball in the evening. A day of surprises, minor shocks, and a front seat glimpse of a different society.

The first surprise turned out to be a small shock for the Duchess. It was at the actual swearing in at the White House. The Duchess was very put out. Many people completely ignored the prayers, preferring, Instead, to move around taking photos.

But, what happened during the march-past at the White House was almost too much.

Just as an air force unit was stiffly marching past, one of the airmen broke rank, stepped out of line - took a snap of the President then fell back into line and carried on marching!

And, there was more, and, it came from the top.

While all this was happening, President Kennedy was drinking coffee and eating chocolate biscuits. The president was trying to keep warm!

But, the ball in the evening was very much different.

The Duchess was very impressed by everyone's willingness to speak to the press. Journalists – in those days in America - were very respected people.

But, there was still one more lasting impression to come. The whole occasion had been a melting of rank. Whoever you were, you were important. This wasn't so in the Duchess's Britain.

Then, the Duchess stopped writing and turned off the light. She'd had a very long day. She had been there at the making of history; she had discovered great differences.

Everyone was in with a chance. That was America.

A Duchess and a President. Some interesting differences.