President Joe Biden spoke to King Charles III for the first time on Wednesday, paying tribute to his late mother Queen Elizabeth II and her hospitality, while saying he wanted to continue their close relationship. They spoke on the day the Queen’s coffin was borne on a gun carriage to the Palace of Westminster, where she will lie in state. Biden is expected to leave for London on Saturday ahead of Monday’s funeral.
‘The president recalled fondly the Queen’s kindness and hospitality, including when she hosted him and the first lady at Windsor Castle last June,’ he said according to a white House readout. ‘He also conveyed the great admiration of the American people for the Queen, whose dignity and constancy deepened the enduring friendship and special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.
‘President Biden conveyed his wish to continue a close relationship with the King.’ The Queen hosted the Bidens for tea at Windsor Castle after the G7 summit in Cornwall last summer. At the time, Biden said they discussed Russian President Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping.
‘We had a long talk. She was very generous. I don’t think she’d be insulted but she reminded me of my mother,’ he said. ‘In terms of the look of her and just the generosity. She was very gracious.’
Biden ordered flags to half staff on Thursday after the death of the 96-year-old British head of state.
And he was the first world leader to sign a book of condolence when he upended his schedule that day to visit the British embassy in Washington D.C.
‘We mourn for all of you,’ he said after the signing, with first lady Jill at his side.
‘She was a great lady. We’re so delighted to get to meet her.’
Biden will be among some 500 heads of state and foreign officials expected at the funeral – one of the biggest gatherings of royalty and world leaders in the UK since the death of Elizabeth’s father George VI.
Most have been told to travel on commercial flights and will travel on buses from a pickup point in west London to Westminster Abbey on Monday.
But Biden will arrive on Air Force One, and has special dispensation to use the Beast – his oversized armored limousine to travel through the city.
He is expected to stay at the U.S. Ambassador’s residence. Winfield House is a 35-bedroom house set in 12 acres in the middle of London.
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