Queen Elizabeth II and Joe Biden To Have Tea Together at Windsor Castle
President Joe Biden will be treated to a military guard of honor before tea with Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle.
The president arrived in Britain yesterday for the G7 summit in Cornwall, and is already making waves in the host nation over Brexit and the Irish border.
However, he will also become the 13th sitting U.S. president to meet Elizabeth, in the 70th year of her reign.
Biden will be the fifth U.S. president welcomed into Windsor Castle, which has traditionally been the Queen's residence at weekends and Easter.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: "The Queen will meet the President of the United States of America and first lady Jill Biden at Windsor Castle on Sunday 13th June 2021.
"Her Majesty will welcome the President and the First Lady at the dais in the Quadrangle of Windsor Castle.
"Upon the President and the First Lady's arrival, a Guard of Honour formed of The Queen's Company First Battalion Grenadier Guards will give a Royal Salute, and the US National Anthem will be played.
"The President will then accompany the Officer Commanding the Guard of Honour, Major James Taylor, and Major General Christopher Ghika, to inspect the Guard of Honour, before returning to the dais to watch the military march past alongside The Queen and the First Lady.
"The President and the First Lady will then join Her Majesty for tea in the Castle."
The other presidents invited to Windsor were Donald Trump, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Ronald Regan.
Royal watchers and political correspondents will be on the lookout for a diplomatic faux pas from the Bidens, as they navigate a ritual notoriously steeped in protocol.
Trump fell foul of the rules when he touched the Queen on the back as she rose for a toast in June 2019, a strict no-no in royal circles.
All physical contact with the Queen, beyond a handshake initiated by her, is considered a breach of protocol.
Trump is not the only one to break the rules, however, as former first lady Michelle Obama hugged Elizabeth, and more surprisingly, appeared to get a reciprocal hug back.
Biden's visit was on the front page of U.K. newspaper The Times today, with a story suggesting the president had ordered senior U.S. diplomat Yael Lempert to issue Britain with a formal diplomatic reprimand.
The newspaper quoted British government minutes of a June 3 meeting showing the U.S. had accused Britain of imperiling the Northern Ireland peace process by not implementing border checks.
The president holds his first face-to-face talks with Prime Minister Boris Johnson today.
Quoted on Sky News, Johnson said in a statement: "While Churchill and Roosevelt faced the question of how to help the world recover following a devastating war, today we have to reckon with a very different but no less intimidating challenge—how to build back better from the coronavirus pandemic.
"The agreements President Biden and I will make today, rooted as they are in our shared values and outlook, will form the foundation of a sustainable global recovery.
"Eighty years ago the U.S. president and British prime minister stood together promising a better future. Today we do the same."
