Joe and Jill Biden have tea with Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle after G7 summit

The 95-year-old British monarch, wearing a bright pink floral outfit, greeted the Bidens in the Quadrangle of the castle
At Heathrow Airport following the visit, Biden said the queen had asked him about China’s President Xi Jinping and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin

ReutersandAssociated Press

Published: 1:35am, 14 Jun 2021

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US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill had tea with Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle on Sunday at the end of a G7 summit and as he wraps up the British leg of his first international trip since taking office.

The 95-year-old British monarch, wearing a bright pink floral outfit, greeted the Bidens in the quadrangle of the castle, home to the royal family for nearly 1,000 years and where she has spent much of her time since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

Giving the US president and first lady a taste of British pomp on their arrival, a Guard of Honour formed of The Queen’s Company First Battalion Grenadier Guards gave a royal salute, and the US national anthem was played.

Soldiers of the queen’s Company First Battalion Grenadier Guards in the quadrangle of Windsor Castle in England on Sunday. Photo: AP

The president and queen looked relaxed and chatted before they headed inside the castle for a private meeting.

The queen had already met the Bidens on their visit to Britain. She hosted a reception for leaders of the Group of Seven rich nations and their spouses on Friday night in the southwestern English county of Cornwall where the three-day summit was held.

The Bidens emerged from the castle just shy of having spent a full hour with the queen and boarded the helicopter for the return trip to London.

At Heathrow Airport, Biden talked about the queen, saying she was “very gracious,” that she asked him about Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping and that he had invited her to visit the White House.

“I don’t think she’ll be insulted, but she reminded me of my mother,” Biden said before he boarded Air Force One for his next stop, Brussels.

It generally is frowned upon for anyone to reveal the contents of their private talks with the queen.

Joe Biden and his wife are the fourth president and first lady the queen has received at Windsor, following the Trumps in 2018, the Obamas in 2016, President George W Bush and his wife in 2008 and the Reagans in 1982.

G7 takes aim at China on coronavirus and human rights

During her 69 years on the British throne, the longest reign of any English monarch, there have been 14 US presidents, of which Elizabeth has met all bar Lyndon Johnson.

Despite the loss in April of Prince Philip, her 99-year-old husband of more than 70 years, and her age, the queen has shown her determination to carry on with her official duties as head of state during the high-profile G7 gathering.

After hosting the leaders on Friday where she cracked a joke during the official photocall, she provoked more laughter at another official engagement for a local project immediately afterwards when she cut a cake with a long ceremonial sword.

On Saturday, she was back in Windsor for a military parade to mark her official birthday, the first one she has marked without Prince Philip.

After leaving Windsor, Biden will head off to a Nato summit in Brussels on Monday, a US-EU summit on Tuesday and a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva the following day.