Queen to bend protocol for Obama

LONDON, March 7 (UPI) -- Queen Elizabeth II plans to grant U.S. President Barack Obama an audience during his upcoming trip to London even though he will not be on a state visit.

The queen is said to be eager to meet Obama, The Times of London reported, suggesting that might be why she is willing to relax royal protocol slightly.

The audience would most likely be April 1, the day before the official start of the G20 conference.

Elizabeth has met 10 of the 12 U.S. presidents who have been in office since her reign began in February 1952, missing only Lyndon Johnson and, so far, Obama.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown just returned from an official visit to Washington, where he was the first European leader to be entertained in the Obama White House.