Queen will welcome Joe Biden with pomp and ceremony at Windsor: Grenadier Guards will give Royal Salute to US president and First Lady Jill Biden while Star-Spangled Banner is played this Sunday
- Queen will host Joe and Jill Biden for tea at Windsor Castle following G7 summit
- Mr Biden will be the 13th serving US president the Queen has formally received
- Queen’s Company First Battalion Grenadier Guards will form a Guard of Honour
- The Queen has received four other presidents at Windsor Castle in recent times
The Queen will host US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden for tea at Windsor Castle this Sunday following the G7 summit, royal officials confirmed today.
The 95-year-old monarch will welcome Mr Biden, who will be the 13th serving US president she has formally received, and his wife at the dais in the quadrangle.
A Guard of Honour will be formed of the Queen’s Company First Battalion Grenadier Guards, who will give a Royal Salute, and the US National Anthem will be played.
Mr Biden will then accompany the Officer Commanding the Guard of Honour, Major James Taylor, and Major General Christopher Ghika, to inspect the Guard of Honour.
The President will then return to the dais to watch the military march past alongside The Queen and his wife. The Bidens will then join the Queen for tea in the castle.
US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden arrive on Air Force One at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk yesterday ahead of the G7 summit in Cornwall
The Queen, pictured in the gardens of Windsor Castle on June 2, where she will host the Bidens
The Queen has received four other presidents and their wives at Windsor Castle in recent times – Donald and Melania Trump in 2018; Barack and Michelle Obama in 2016; George W and Laura Bush in 2008; and Ronald and Nancy Reagan in 1982.
The monarch has met 12 out of 14 serving US presidents so far during her reign, with President Lyndon B Johnson being the only exception. Mr Biden will be the 13th.
Which presidents has the Queen previously met at Windsor?
- 2018: Donald and Melania Trump
- 2016: Barack and Michelle Obama
- 2008: George W and Laura Bush
- 1982: Ronald and Nancy Reagan
The Grenadier Guards, who will form the Guard of Honour at the castle this weekend, are one of the British Army’s longest-serving units.
As well as operational duties, the Grenadier Guards also have a ceremonial role guarding the Royal Residences, including Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace.
Today, Mr Biden and Prime Minister Boris Johnson are expected to pledge to restore transatlantic travel in the wake of the Covid pandemic.
The President will meet the Prime Minister in Cornwall this afternoon before the start of the G7 summit for their first ever face-to-face talks.
The two leaders are expected to agree an updated version of the Atlantic Charter, a 1941 deal between Winston Churchill and Franklin D Roosevelt which is credited with laying the foundations for the post-war world order.
Mr Biden touched down in Britain yesterday for his first overseas trip since his inauguration.
The Queen with Donald Trump and his wife Melania at Windsor Castle in July 2018, as they walk from the Quadrangle after inspecting the Guard of Honour during the president’s visit
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh stand with then-president Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama in the Oak Room at Windsor Castle ahead of a private lunch on April 22, 2016
The summit, which begins tomorrow, will see the leaders of the world’s richest democracies discuss the response to Covid. They will also attempt to form a united front to tackle challenges posed by China and Russia.
In addition to these issues, Downing Street last night said the PM hoped to finalise a new ‘travel taskforce’ aimed at restoring UK-US travel ‘as soon as possible’.
The President, who once described Mr Johnson as a ‘physical and emotional clone’ of Donald Trump, this week said he would restate his commitment to his country’s ‘special relationship’ with Britain.
No 10 has confirmed the PM prefers not to use the phrase, following reports that he believes it makes the UK appear ‘needy and weak’.
Queen Elizabeth II smiles as the Duke of Edinburgh points to the ceiling, with then-president George W Bush and his wife Laura at St George’s Hall in Windsor Castle on June 15, 2008
The Queen and Prince Philip host then-president Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy Reagan at Windsor Castle for a State Banquet on June 7, 1982
Mr Biden last night avoided using the phrase, describing the bond between Britain and the US as the ‘strongest military and political alliance in the history of the world’.
He added: ‘Now we need to modernise our alliance… to keep us secure against every threat we’ve faced over the last decade, and the new challenges we are about to face as well.’
Today’s meeting is expected to last for at least two hours. The wide-ranging talks are due to cover the prospects of a post-Brexit trade deal, which has slipped down the White House priority list since Mr Trump’s departure.
The leaders are also set to discuss a technology agreement, aimed at lowering the barriers British firms face when trying to work with their US counterparts.
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