Since USAmbUK arrived in London last summer, she’s met two monarchs, three prime ministers and had a hit Netflix drama echo her every move. But what does it really take to manage UK/US relations?
Her role, she insists, has always been the same: to boost the “special” relationship. I thought that was over when Boris Johnson said he preferred not to use the term. “Not at all,” she insists. She’s made a career out of being on-message. “The positive was that the institutions here are so stable and the special relationship so close that the process of government and UK/US relations just kept going.
The house is exquisite, all hand-painted Chinese wallpaper, delicate chandeliers and cream sofas. We settle in the drawing room, where we drink iced tea. “We also serve hot dogs here,” she says, keen not to sound too distant and formal. Part of her role is to host parties and fly the American flag. Before Christmas, the embassy was beautifully decorated in traditional wreaths, “but I was told to do something American too.
Hartley likes to mix up Shake Shack and Shakespeare. “I like wearing American and British designers too. In Paris I went to the Chanel shows, as I know the family, but I don’t own a huge amount. It’s expensive. I like Stella McCartney, Emilia Wickstead and Erdem – my husband bought me a dress from there.” But the ambassador stresses she’s in London as a diplomat, not as a hostess or to do the season. “I’ve worked for three presidents now and I was ambassador to France during the terror attacks.
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