page_title: State visits to the United States
section_title: River barge cruises
hierarchical_section_title: State visits to the United States / Non-ceremonial activities / River barge cruises
caption_attribution_description: English: Edward, Prince of Wales (1894-1972) visits the tomb of George Washington in Mount Vernon, Virginia
context_page_description: State and official visits to the United States are formal visits by the head of state or chief of government from one country to the United States, during which the president of the United States acts as official host of the visitor. State visits are considered to be the highest expression of friendly bilateral relations between the United States and a foreign state and are, in general, characterized by an emphasis on official public ceremonies.
  The first visit of a foreign state to the United States was the state visit of the then-independent Kingdom of Hawaii in 1874; this was followed by the state visit of Brazil in 1876. Since then, numerous emperors, queens, kings, presidents, and prime ministers have been formally received by the President of the United States in Washington. In addition to state and official visits, the United States also receives foreign dignitaries in official working visits, which are primarily functional trips that occur with less or no ceremony.
context_section_description: In 1992, Boris Yeltsin described his cruise on the Ceremonial Barge Chesapeake with George H. W. Bush:
caption: The Prince of Wales, later Edward VIII, pays obeisance at Washington's sarcophagus in 1919.
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