US President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden pay respects to Queen Elizabeth II lying-in-state
- The president, accompanied by his wife and the US ambassador to Britain, made the sign of the cross and briefly placed his hand on his heart during the visit
- He is one of hundreds of world leaders travelling to the UK to pay their respects, but Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is no longer expected
US President Joe Biden paid his last respects to Queen Elizabeth II in London on Sunday, appearing on a balcony in Westminster Hall as a stream of people filed past the late-monarch’s coffin.
The president made the sign of the cross and briefly placed his hand on his heart during the visit as he stood quietly near the casket. The Bidens were joined by US Ambassador Jane Hartley.
The President also signed the official condolence book and attended a reception at Buckingham Palace on Sunday, hosted by King Charles III, before attending the state funeral at Westminster Abbey on Monday.
The US leader joined Japan’s Emperor Naruhito, French President Emmanuel Macron and other heads of state from around the world headed at the reception.
The president, who flew in to the UK late on Saturday, has said King Charles’s mother, who reigned for a record-breaking 70 years until her death on September 8 aged 96, “defined an era”.
Australia’s anti-monarchy Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who viewed the lying-in-state and met Charles on Saturday, told Sky News Australia that the queen was “a constant reassuring presence”.
There was also a private audience at Buckingham Palace for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand, which like Australia and 12 other Commonwealth realms now counts Charles as its sovereign.
“You could see that it meant a huge amount (to Charles) to have seen the sheer scale and outpouring of people’s love and affection for her late Majesty,” she told BBC television on Sunday.
But in a sign of challenges ahead for the new king, Ardern added that she expected New Zealand to ditch the UK monarchy “over the course of my lifetime”.
A dented plaque, a creaking hospital: Queen’s complex legacy in Middle East
Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is no longer expected to attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral on Monday, a British foreign office source said on Sunday, contrary to Britain’s earlier expectations that he would.
Saudi Arabia would be represented instead by Prince Turki bin Mohammed al Saud, the source said. Prince Turki is a minister of state and has been a member of the cabinet since 2018. He is the grandson of late King Fahd and part of the new generation that has been brought to power by Prince Mohammed.
The change was made by Saudi Arabia, the source added.
Britain has invited heads of state from its allies to attend, but it is up to those nations who to send.
Saudi representation at the funeral has been closely watched for any signs of a further thaw in a diplomatic chill Western countries imposed on Prince Mohammed after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi insider-turned-critic, that US intelligence says was approved by the crown prince.
He has denied any role in the killing. In 2020, Saudi Arabia jailed eight people for between seven and 20 years for Khashoggi’s murder.
Additional reporting Associated Press, Agence France-Presse
