Joe Biden on Sunday ended the primary leg of his maiden abroad journey as US president, inspecting a army guard of honour and taking tea with Queen Elizabeth II.
In vivid sunshine, the 78-year-old US chief’s Marine One helicopter landed at Windsor Castle, west of London, after the three-day G7 summit in Cornwall, southwest England, wrapped up.
The Queen, 95 and sporting a pink floral costume with an identical hat, is now again on frontline royal duties after the dying of her husband, Prince Philip, in April.
She had met Biden and his spouse, Jill, on the summit of G7 leaders on Friday, internet hosting a reception on the Eden undertaking eco-visitor attraction.
And on Saturday, she reviewed a scaled-down Trooping of the Colour, additionally at Windsor, as half of her official birthday celebrations.
Sunday’s high-profile reception for the Bidens, which included a army band enjoying each the British and US nationwide anthems, means she has now formally met 13 of the final 14 sitting US presidents — barring Lyndon B. Johnson — since she took the throne in 1952.
Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, visited in June 2019.
It was additionally the monarch’s first in-person assembly with a overseas chief in additional than a yr, after she was compelled into self-isolation as a result of of the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden, in a darkish go well with, inspected the Grenadier Guards of their crimson tunics and black bearskin hats on the stainless lawns of the historic royal palace’s quadrangle.
Some of the troopers had been concerned within the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh, the queen’s husband of 78 years who died simply weeks brief of his one hundredth birthday.
The Bidens on the time paid tribute to the duke, saying: “His legacy will dwell on not solely by way of his household however in all of the charitable endeavours he formed.”
They saluted “eyes left” as they marched previous the monarch and the Bidens, who stood to consideration below a white cover, earlier than the dignitaries disappeared inside.
The US First Lady, who is ready to return to Washington after the regal reception, whereas her husband flies on to Europe for additional conferences, mentioned Friday it was “an thrilling half” of their UK go to.
Afterwards at London’s Heathrow Airport, a short drive away from Windsor, Biden told reporters on the tarmac before boarding Air Force One they had a long talk and the queen was “very gracious”.
Biden mentioned he prolonged an invite to the monarch to the White House, and added: “I don’t suppose she’d be insulted. She jogged my memory of my mom.”
“She’s extremely gracious, that’s not surprising, but we had a great talk. She wanted to know what the two leaders that I — the one I’m about to meet with, Mr Putin, and she wanted to know about Xi Jinping, and we had a long talk.”
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