Prince Harry and Jill Biden: why the unlikely friendship between the British royal and America’s new first lady once made Joe Biden joke about being jealous

Feb 11 , 2021

Jill Biden and Prince Harry attend the wheelchair basketball final on day eight of the Invictus Games Toronto 2017. Photo: Getty Images

Last month, Buckingham Palace confirmed that Queen Elizabeth sent President Joe Biden a private message ahead of his inauguration – reportedly one of congratulations, despite the queen’s history of political neutrality.

But Queen Elizabeth isn’t the only one who apparently gets along with the newest White House residents. Over the years, Prince Harry and first lady Dr Jill Biden have kept up an unlikely friendship. Here’s what you need to know.

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Everywhere Prince Harry went, he had this blonde woman on his arm. The vice-president’s wife! I’m a little worried here, you know what I mean?

Joe Biden, when he was US vice-president

Their first meeting

Dr Jill Biden, Prince Harry and former first lady Michelle Obama prepare to attend an event to honour military families at the White House during the first day of the prince’s visit to the United States in May 2013 in Washington. Photo: WPA Pool

Jill and the prince first met in 2013 when the royal visited the US and attended a Washington reception honouring fallen American and British soldiers. The pair hit it off instantly; it’s little surprise that they bonded with Biden’s late stepson Beau being a veteran and Harry having served in the armed forces. That same year, Harry attended the US Army’s Warrior Games in Colorado – an event for wounded, injured or sick veterans. The multi-sport event inspired Harry’s own Invictus Games.

The Invictus Games

Jill and Harry struck up such a rapport that, in 2014, she flew to London for his inaugural Invictus Games. And it wasn’t the only time she backed his event. Harry took the Games to Orlando, Florida, in 2016 and was spotted watching wheelchair basketball with the then-second lady of the United States.

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Then-Vice-President Joe Biden noticed too, joking: “Jill went to London for the last Games. She spent too much damn time with Prince Harry!” He later told The Guardian: “I read in The Guardian, or one of them, and it says – I’m paraphrasing – everywhere Prince Harry went, he had this blonde woman on his arm. The vice-president’s wife! I’m a little worried here, you know what I mean?”

Jill and Harry reunited in 2017 when the games were hosted in Toronto, Canada. The same event is where the prince stepped out publicly with his new American girlfriend Meghan Markle for the first time.

The election speech

It’s unclear if Markle ever met the Bidens, but in 2020 some believed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex showed support for their preferred presidential candidate. Despite not mentioning him by name, the royals urged Americans to vote, with Harry saying that as a British royal, he has never had the privilege to vote. Their messaging in the Time 100 video to reject “hate speech, misinformation and online negativity” in “the most important election of our lifetime” was also regarded as being in line with Biden’s message. As an American citizen, Markle is believed to have cast a ballot.

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The inauguration

President Joe Biden inauguration, with a photo of Prince Harry at the top-right corner. Photo: @JonDavidson_/Twitter

While we’ll probably never know if the royals had a hand in Joe’s election success, it’s clear they’re still tight. Eagle-eyed viewers spotted a picture of Prince Harry during the inauguration festivities in January. When the Bidens laid a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery, Harry’s image was in the background. The prince was pictured in his army uniform from his visit in 2013.

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Royalty

Jill Biden supported Prince Harry’s Invictus Games – inspired by the US Army’s Warrior Games – and even Joe Biden joked about how much they hung out
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle encouraged Americans to vote in the 2020 election, and a photo of the Duke of Sussex was spotted at the inauguration