The United Kingdom Of America

(I am walking around Washington DC with my cousins, who are British, and showing them the attractions. They have been to the US a few times before. The youngest is in her early teens when this happens.)

Cousin: “Does America have a king?”

(I stare at her and she tries to guess from my expression.)

Cousin: “Yes…? No…?”

(She seems to realise something.)

Cousin: “It has a queen? That’s it, right? There’s a queen? No. A king, then?”

Me: “Don’t you know about the American Revolution? Do they teach you about it in history?”

Cousin: “Um, not much. So is there a king?”

(I explained and took them to the history museum. I still wonder how she thought there could be a monarch that nobody talks about.)