Queen Elizabeth Greets Joe Biden and his wife at Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle, UK. — Queen Elizabeth Greets Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden at Windsor Castle.
Joe Biden and the First Lady were greeted by Queen Elizabeth Sunday at Windsor Castle, where they were given a formal military welcome, followed by a decidedly more informal British tradition an afternoon cup of tea.
In gorgeous afternoon sunshine, the queen emerged from the Sovereign’s Entrance of Windsor Castle at exactly 17:05 local time (12:05 EST) and precisely three minutes later, she greeted the Bidens in the shade of an elegant tent set up in castle’s quadrangle, as part of what looks certain to be the biggest set piece image of Biden’s visit to Europe.
The Queen has hosted Joe Biden at Windsor Castle continuing a decades-long tradition of welcoming US Presidents in the UK. pic.twitter.com/JTR6x4Sf23
— The Royal Family Channel (@RoyalFamilyITNP) June 13, 2021
The US national anthem plays as the Queen greets US President Joe Biden at Windsor Castle.
The Bidens had touched down a mere 15 minutes earlier on Marine One, having boarded the chopper at London’s Heathrow airport, whence they had flown from the G7 summit in Cornwall in Airforce One. They were treated to a selection of American-themed musical performances by the band of the Grenadier Guards including John Philip Sousa’s The Stars and Stripes Forever, while they waited the appropriate moment to enter the quadrangle.
The queen, wearing a floral pink dress and matching hat, looked on sparkling form, smiling broadly and chatting with Biden and his wife Dr. Jill Biden, in marked contrast to the stiff formality that pervaded the atmosphere when she greeted Donald Trump at the same venue in 2018 and again at London’s Buckingham Palace in 2019.
On both those occasions, there were street protests against Trump; by comparison, today’s crowds in Windsor seemed entirely supportive of the new president, although as all the activity was taking place inside the curtain wall of Britain’s most picturesque castle, there was little for them to see other than Marine One flying overhead.
The Guard of Honor to salute the Bidens was assembled of the Queen’s Company First Battalion Grenadier Guards. They gave a traditional royal salute and the American national anthem was also played.
At the end of their visit to the UK, President Biden @POTUS and the First Lady @FLOTUS drop in for tea with the Queen at #WindsorCastle. pic.twitter.com/7SU616vk9F
— Majesty Magazine & Joe Little (@MajestyMagazine) June 13, 2021
Biden, accompanied by senior British military officers, was then invited to inspect the Guard of Honor, a tradition going back to the middle ages. As he toured the troops, to the accompaniment of The Star Spangled Banner, Her Majesty leaned towards Dr. Biden and appeared to engage her in small talk.
