President Biden enjoys afternoon tea with The Queen

On Sunday, US President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr Jill Biden joined The Queen at Windsor Castle to inspect a Guard of Honour and enjoy afternoon tea. Biden is the fifth president The Queen has received at Windsor Castle, and the 13th serving president she has met.

Upon arrival, Biden stood next to The Queen inspecting the troops in the quadrangle of Windsor Castle. After the inspection of the troops, the Bidens joined The Queen in the State Apartments for tea.

After the meeting, the president shared how it went: “She’s extremely gracious — not surprising — but we had a great talk,” said Biden. “We had a long talk and she was very generous. I don’t think she would be insulted but she reminded me on my mother, in terms of the look of her and just the generosity.”

The president says The Queen asked him about his upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Queen also inquired about life at the White House.

“We could fit the White House in the courtyard of the castle.” When asked if the monarch was invited to come visit, Biden replied, “yes.”

The visit comes at the end of the G7 summit in Cornwall. A conference where leaders of the world’s biggest economies discuss issues including vaccines and climate change.

Sunday isn’t the first time the president met The Queen during the summit. Biden along with the first lady also met The Queen on Friday for a G7 leaders reception at the Eden Project. Earlier in the day, Dr Biden visited a local school with the Duchess of Cambridge.

After tea on Sunday, the Bidens departed for Brussels, where the president will attend NATO and European Union summits. The White House said Biden met The Queen in 1982 when he was a US senator. Biden is the 13th sitting president to meet the 95-year-old. The Queen has met every American president since Dwight Eisenhower during her nearly 70-year reign, except for Lyndon Johnson who did not visit Britain while in office.