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Restating the aims of his trip, Nixon declared: "I have come for work, not for ceremony; to inquire, not to insist; to consult, not to convince; to listen and learn, and to begin what I hope will be a continuing interchange of ideas and insights." He was warmly received, notably when he admitted: "I know there have been rumblings of discontent in Europe—a feeling that too often the United States talked at its partners instead of with them, or merely informed them of decisions after they were made, instead of consulting with them before deciding." Nixon bent over backward to make the point, so much so that an Italian official protested: "But Mr. President, we want to hear what you have to say, too."
From Brussels, Nixon went on to London, where he drove with Prime Minister Harold Wilson past small cheering crowds in roadside villages to Chequers, in Buckinghamshire, for dinner before returning to his suite at Claridge's. Though Nixon and Wilson had met before, this was their first get-together as President and Prime Minister, and the two got on very well. They are similar in many ways: both are rather homely in looks and style, solid and well-disciplined men, who attain and exercise power by organization and tenacity rather than brilliance or charisma. "The personal chemistry is working," said one participant in the Nixon-Wilson meetings. Nixon pleased his British hosts with several references to the historic "special relationship" between the two countries. The British like to hear that the U.S. still believes there is such a thing, though they are hesitant to mention it themselves.
Nixon turned tourist in Westminster Abbey, asking the height of the ceiling and pausing before the U.S. Medal of Honor awarded to Britain's Unknown Warrior. There was a brief moment of embarrassment when the Union Jack on his limousine turned out to be upside down.
In eleven hours of discussions, characterized by what a British spokesman called "plain dealing," Nixon and Wilson reviewed the problems facing the two nations—with special attention to the necessity of avoiding further challenges to the dollar and the pound. During his visit, Nixon also met with Conservative Leader Edward Heath and Liberal Leader Jeremy Thorpe, received former Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, who is an old friend from the Eisenhower days, and sat with groups of businessmen, labor and youth leaders, educators and editors. The British are tough judges, but they were taken with their visitor. Said one official who talked with him: "His syntax was secure. That's a rather new experience with recent American Presidents. His sentences have a beginning, a middle and an end."