ROYAL FAMILY NEWSQueen Camilla Is 'Glad' Jenna Bush Hager's Marriage to Henry Worked Out After She 'Threw Him Into the Fire' at High-Pressure Dinner 20 Years Ago
Jenna Bush Hager and Henry Hager spent one of their early dates at a State Dinner with Queen Camilla.
April 30 2026, Published 4:06 p.m. ET
Jenna Bush Hager and Queen Camilla have vivid memories of their first time meeting each other.
Ahead of airing her new interview with the royal, the media personality recounted meeting her for the first time in 2005 during the Thursday, April 30, episode of TODAY With Jenna & Sheinelle.
Two decades ago, Bush Hager’s father, George W. Bush, was still president, and she visited the White House for a State Dinner.
Jenna Bush Hager recently interviewed Queen Camilla.
“I first actually met the Queen when she was the Duchess of Cornwall…I brought [my now-husband] Henry…” she recalled. “I was a teacher in D.C. Imagine [I was a] teacher in D.C. by day, and in the nighttime, I put on this black dress, and I said to my boyfriend, who was only my boyfriend for six months at that point, ‘Will you come with me to a State Dinner?’”
Jenna continued, “We went to the State Dinner, and when I saw the Queen yesterday, she said, ‘It’s been since 2005.’ I couldn’t believe she remembered that.”
The talk show host, 44, pointed out to the 78-year-old that she wound up marrying the man she brought that evening.
“She said, ‘I’m glad it worked out…you were really throwing him into the fire,’” Jenna revealed. “I said, ‘Yes, I was.’”
Jenna Bush Hager had a conversation at the New York Public Library.
A picture then flashed on the screen of Jenna and Henry with serious expressions spread across their faces at the 2005 event.
“Aw, what a beautiful dress, Jenna. Do you still have that dress…and those earrings? You guys are very handsome. You guys look very royal,” co-host Sheinelle Jones gushed over her friend’s plunging black ensemble.
“That’s how I was trying to look,” Jenna confirmed.
Sheinelle Jones Gushes Over Jenna Bush Hager's Curtsy
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Jenna Bush Hager curtsied in the presence of Queen Camilla.
Sheinelle told her she was “proud” of her “beautiful” curtsy during her recent meeting with Queen Camilla in New York.
“I didn’t practice it…” Jenna admitted. “It actually wasn’t as intimidating as I thought it would be. I just went down and did a little thing. It was such an honor.”
Jenna Bush Hager's Daughter Criticized Her Speech to Introduce Queen Camilla
Queen Camilla visited New York this week.
However, the mom-of-three did practice her speech to introduce the Queen at a panel this week.
“Imagine having to introduce the Queen of England.” Jenna expressed. “I had to write the introduction. It was a lot on my plate.”
As she recited the introduction at home, her teenage daughter, Mila, had a strong critique.
“Mila actually said, she goes, 'You're talking too much about yourself.' And by the way, I woke up at 4 in the morning yesterday, and I changed the introduction,” Jenna spilled.
The 13-year-old also informed her that her “hair needed some work.”
Jenna Bush Hager changed her speech for the Queen based on her daughter's advice.
In the end, Mila gave her mom her stamp of approval.
“Yesterday, [Mila] said, 'Where are you?' She wrote me on her iPad when she got home from school. 'Where are you?'” Jenna remembered. “And I said, 'I'm still in the city. I just interviewed the Queen,' and she said, 'Proud of Y.' And then she said, 'Proud of you.' And she's never said that to me before, so I feel good about it.”
