U.S. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden visited Britain to attend the G7 Summit in Cornwall. They are on an eight-day visit to Europe and the itinerary includes the G7 summit, a NATO summit and a meeting with Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia. It was in April that Biden decided to undertake his first overseas trip by visiting the U.K. in June to attend the G7 summit. At the summit, leaders of the world's biggest economies discussed several issues that are relevant to the world of today. These included topics like coronavirus vaccines and climate change.
After the summit ended, the Bidens visited the Queen at the Windsor Castle. They traveled from Cornwall to London's Heathrow Airport on Air Force One. Subsequently, they used the Marine One helicopter to travel to Windsor. The Queen greeted them at the castle. There was the traditional Guard of Honor and a Royal Salute apart from the U.S. national anthem. The BBC reports that the couple had met the Queen earlier at the Eden Project. That was when she arrived to attend a reception for G7 leaders. Later, President Joe Biden said the Queen reminded him of his mother. He also extended an invitation to the Queen to visit the White House.
The meeting between the Queen and the Bidens
As per protocol, Joe Biden and his wife Dr.Jill Biden first met Dame Annabel Whitehead.
She is the Queen's lady-in-waiting. Later, they enjoyed tea in the castle's Oak Room with the Queen. They spent around 40 minutes inside the castle. It was slightly more than the planned 30 minutes. The BBC says President Biden revealed that the names of Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping cropped up during the talks. The former is the President of Russia and the latter, the leader of China.
Biden said: "We had a long talk. She was very generous.”
The Queen asked Biden about life in the White House
It seems the Queen was curious to know what it is like in the White House. Biden’s reply was: 'Well it's magnificent but it's a lot of people." The Queen is 95 years old. Way back in 1951 she had met Harry S Truman, a serving U.S.
president. At the time, she was Princess Elizabeth. Over the years, she had the opportunity to meet all 14 elected U.S. leaders, except for Lyndon B Johnson. The last president she met was Donald Trump at Buckingham Palace and they had afternoon tea in the Oak Room. However, she enjoyed sandwiches and cakes in the White Drawing Room with George W. Bush. For Joe Biden, the visit to Britain is his first foreign trip as the POTUS.
Joe Biden is the 13th U.S. president to meet the Queen
President Joe Biden is the 46th President of the United States and 13th president to meet the Queen. Sky News says there was a Guard of Honor to welcome the President and First Lady at Windsor Castle before they had tea with the Queen.
The guests arrived at the castle by helicopter and were driven into the quadrangle. There, the Queen greeted them. Later, she watched a military march past with the Bidens followed by tea, sandwiches and cake. Apart from the Queen, the President and First Lady had met other members of the Royal family during the G7 summit. They included the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Charles and Camilla. At a news conference before leaving for his next destination, President Biden said the U.S. had restored its presence on the world stage. This visit helped him to connect with leaders from some of the world's most powerful countries and cement relations with the allies of the United States. In his words: "I think we've made progress in re-establishing American credibility among our closest friends." He will now move to Brussels for a NATO summit and then meet Vladimir Putin in Geneva.
