I found this picture of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip standing with the Obamas last week at Buckingham Palace rather startling.

(AP Photo/John Stillwell, pool)

The aging royals, grayer and more stooped than I remembered, were huddled awkwardly beneath of the towering shadow of our shimmering, still-under-warranty, kinetically energetic new President and First Lady. Were the British couple really so tiny or are the Obama’s so large that they dwarfed the royals almost entirely?