Queen hugs first lady in break from protocol

LONDON — Michelle Obama's meeting with Queen Elizabeth II began with a handshake and ended in a hug.

The first lady arrived Wednesday with President Barack Obama. After separate meetings on the eve of the G-20 summit, the couple attended an evening reception for world leaders hosted by the queen.

Michelle Obama clearly made an impression with the 82-year-old monarch — so much that the smiling queen strayed slightly from protocol and briefly wrapped her arm around the first lady in a rare public show of affection.

It was the first time Michelle Obama — who is nearly a foot taller — had met the queen. The first lady also wrapped her arm around the monarch's shoulder and back.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman who asked not to be identified because of palace policy said he could not remember the last time the queen had displayed such public affection with a first lady or dignitary.

"It was a mutual and spontaneous display of affection," he said. "We don't issue instructions on not touching the queen."

The Daily Mail said the "two women clearly took to each other."

The BBC reported the queen was so taken by Michelle Obama that she said: "Now we've met, will you please keep in touch?"

Michelle Obama also seemed to win over the often feral British press.

The last time a first lady made such a hit in Britain was last year with French President Nicolas Sarkozy's wife, the former fashion model and songwriter Carla Bruni.

But on Thursday, London's Times newspaper had moved on, writing "Carla who?"

The BBC described Michelle Obama as her husband's co-star rather than supporting act — appropriate for a Harvard-educated lawyer.

Michelle Obama visited an all-girls school in north London on Thursday afternoon. She told the 240 girls about growing up on Chicago's south side, and urged them to think of education as "cool."

"I never cut class. I liked being smart. I liked getting A's," she said. "You have everything you need. Everything you need to succeed you already have right here."

At the end of the visit, Michelle Obama doled out hugs to the students and was swarmed by them — to the extent that some Secret Service agents stepped nervously forward.