President Biden Says The Queen Reminded Him of His Mother and Has Invited Her to White House
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President Biden told reporters that the Queen reminded him of his mother after visiting Windsor Castle with First Lady Dr. Jill Biden for a private tea on Sunday, June 13.
As he departed the UK for Brussels, Belgium, the president spoke of his encounter with the “extremely gracious” monarch after visiting her Berkshire home, revealing that the Queen had asked him about China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin during their time together.
The Bidens’ visit to Windsor Castle came at the tail end of the G7 Leaders summit in Cornwall, England, where the president had called for more aggressive action against China and its unwillingness to play by international trade rules ahead of his meeting with Putin on Wednesday.
"I don't think she’d be insulted but she reminded me of my mother, the look of her and just the generosity," Biden told White House pool reporters shortly before departing London’s Heathrow Airport on Air Force One. "She's extremely gracious, that's not surprising, but we had a great talk. She wanted to know what the two leaders that I. . . the one I'm about to meet with, Mr Putin, and she wanted to know about Xi Jinping, and we had a long talk."
The couple had spent over an hour at Windsor Castle, where they were greeted by the Queen in the Quadrangle for a taste of British pomp as the president—accompanied by the Officer Commanding the Guard of Honour, Major James Taylor, and Major General Christopher Ghika—inspected the Guard of Honor. The Bidens watched while The Queen’s Company Battalion Grenadier Guard gave a Royal Salute as the “Star Spangled Banner” played.
After their moment outside in the blistering sun, the trio headed into the castle’s Grand Corridor for an official photograph before heading into private quarters for tea. It was here, President Biden revealed, that the Queen asked him what is like inside the White House.
“I said, ‘Well, it's magnificent, but it’s a lot of people,’” he said. “She said, ‘I know,’ she said, ‘Here,’ she said, ‘on this end we're going is private. The public can go in the other end. [laughs] Anyway, she was very gracious.”
As they sat down for their 40-minute tea, the president went on to invite the Queen to Washington. "I said I wish we could stay longer, maybe we could hold the cars up a minute, and stuff,” he admitted. Wife Dr Jill Biden remained in England for an additional engagement but is scheduled to return to DC in the evening.
Their royal visit to Windsor was the second time the couple had met the Queen during their visit to the UK. On Friday the monarch—who has met 13 of 14 U.S. presidents during her 69-year reign—hosted a reception for G7 Leaders and their spouses.
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