Michelle Obama: A Short Biography (Short Biographies of Famous People) / Short Biographies of Famous People (ePub)

It is April 1, 2009. London is the setting. The precise site is Buckingham Palace.

It's a significant day for Michelle and Barack Obama. Barack was sworn in as the nation's president back in January. He and Michelle are currently present at the G20 summit's reception and are seen as newbies on the international scene.

Michelle, who was raised on the South Side of Chicago, is shown here mingling and enjoying canapés with Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel. It's exciting, but she's unsure of how to act in the strangely unfamiliar old world.

The Queen of England unexpectedly makes an appearance on Michelle's right just before the gathering ends. Both of them have spent the evening making small chat while following the rules of formality.

The Queen comments on Michelle's pumps, "Well, those shoes are rather unpleasant, are they not?" and the atmosphere immediately seems to brighten. They chuckle together as they both confess to having sore feet.

As she would with any other person she had just connected with on a human level, Michelle now instinctively puts her hand on the Queen's back.

She was unaware that she had seriously violated the protocol at the time. The yellow press treated her as though she had committed a horrific crime, or at the very least, a terrible faux pas. She has no right to touch her Royalty! But Michelle stood by her actions rather than covering her face in shame. It might not have been the best course of action. But doing it was only natural. And to top it off, the Queen had reciprocated the favor by putting the palm of her gloved hand on Michelle's back.

This brief scene shows a lot about Michelle Obama's warm personality: She is a powerful yet kind lady who strives to do everything properly while still looking for common ground.

Yet, she is also contentious. Her life narrative and how she grew to be who she is today are revealed in this book.