USA Today Washington Bureau chief Susan Page will appear in Santa Barbara on Thursday, April 23 for a News-Press-hosted talk centered on her latest release, “The Queen and Her Presidents: The Hidden Hand That Shaped History,” which debuted Tuesday.
The event will take place at the Community Environmental Council’s Environmental Hub, 1219 State St., beginning with a cocktail hour from 6 to 7 p.m., followed by a talk, audience Q&A and book signing. Author and former News-Press Editor Jerry Roberts with host the Q&A.
Page, who has covered 12 presidential campaigns and interviewed 10 U.S. presidents, has built a career examining power and the people who wield it.
Her previous books have focused on influential figures including Barbara Bush, Nancy Pelosi and Barbara Walters, a through line of “formidable women who left a big impact,” she said.
Her latest work examines Queen Elizabeth II’s relationships with 13 U.S. presidents, from Harry Truman to Joe Biden, offering a more expansive view of a monarch often regarded as ceremonial but who, in practice, operated with quiet, sustained influence at the highest levels of global power.
The project took shape after the queen’s death in 2022, when coverage of her life repeatedly noted she had met with 13 sitting U.S. presidents.
“That’s a lot of presidents,” Page said. “What did they talk about? Was there an impact? I assumed it was all chit-chat.”
The reporting led her in a different direction.
What emerged, she said, was a figure far more engaged and informed than widely understood, shaped by decades of exposure to world leaders and global intelligence.
For many, the modern understanding of the monarchy has been shaped in part by portrayals such as Netflix’s “The Crown,” which has popularized a more intimate view of life inside the royal family.
Page said her reporting points to a more consequential reality, one defined less by dramatization and more by the quiet, sustained exercise of influence behind the scenes.
Over the course of her 70-year reign, Elizabeth received daily intelligence briefings and foreign policy reports, building a depth of knowledge that few world leaders could match, let alone sustain over time.
“No one on the planet had more depth of information over a longer period of time than Queen Elizabeth did,” Page said.
Though she held no formal political authority, Page said the queen exercised influence through what is commonly described as soft power, shaping relationships and, at times, helping to steady them during periods of strain.
“I think what’s interesting is the extent to which soft power can make a difference,” Page said. “We as human beings sometimes underestimate that.”
That influence played out differently across administrations, sometimes in ways that were deeply personal. Among the most notable was her relationship with President Ronald Reagan, which carries a direct connection to the Santa Barbara area.
“I think the president that she considered closest to a friend was Ronald Reagan,” Page said, pointing to a relationship rooted less in policy than in shared interests, including horseback riding and a mutual appreciation for film.
During a 1983 visit to California, Elizabeth traveled to Reagan’s ranch despite severe weather that had complicated plans for the trip, a decision that underscored the personal nature of their connection.
“They had a special relationship grounded in the Santa Ynez Valley,” Page said.
More broadly, Page said the book highlights the role personal relationships can play in global affairs, even as they operate alongside larger political and historical forces.
“Personal relationships matter,” she said. “They don’t define what happens, but they’re one of the factors that matter.”
For Page, the queen represents another consequential figure whose impact has often been understated.
“I think people underestimate how consequential she was,” she said. “Almost everything she did was behind the scenes.”
The Thursday, April 23 program marks the News-Press’ first event at its new State Street location and is presented with support from the Santa Barbara Literary Festival and Voice Magazine.
