On Monday, the King welcomed the president of the United States to Windsor Castle. Though the two men have met before, the event was significant as King Charles’ first formal meeting with U.S. president during his royal reign.
The late Queen Elizabeth met 13 of the 14 sitting U.S. presidents during her 70 years as sovereign.
The White House previously said the president was traveling to the U.K. “to further strengthen the close relationship between our nations”
President Joe Biden received the ultimate royal welcome in Britain when he met King Charles!
News of the meeting between King Charles, 74, and Biden, 80, was first announced by Buckingham Palace on July 2.
“The King will meet the President of the United States of America at Windsor Castle on Monday 10th July,” the palace said in a statement.
The White House also released a statement, explaining: “President Biden will first travel to London, United Kingdom for engagements with King Charles III and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to further strengthen the close relationship between our nations.”
After shaking hands, the two men watched as the U.S. national anthem was played followed by the U.K. anthem. They then inspected the Welsh Guards.
While Biden’s trip is not a full-blown state visit, it is an important one nonetheless. The two heads of state will not only get to know each other better but also discuss a matter close to both their hearts — ‘climate change’, Ukraine, etc.
King Charles and Biden both joined the participants of the Climate Finance Mobilisation Forum on Monday, which was hosted by John Kerry, the U.S. presidential envoy for climate, and the U.K.’s energy secretary Grant Shapps.
At the meeting in the Green Drawing Room of the Castle, King Charles and President Biden were briefed on the forum’s discussions about how to better encourage big business and private finance to help counter the climate crisis — something that has been a key part of the British monarch’s long-standing environmental campaigning in recent years.
Earlier in the day, Biden met British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at No.10 Downing Street. From the U.K., he will travel to Vilnius, Lithuania, for the NATO Summit, and Helsinki, Finland, for a U.S.-Nordic Leaders Summit, the White House said.
The meeting comes two months after King Charles’ May coronation in London. Though the president did not attend the crowning ceremony — no American president ever has, according to the BBC! — his wife, first lady Dr. Jill Biden, went in his stead. She attended the historic church service with her granddaughter Finnegan Biden and chatted with Kate Middleton at a special Buckingham Palace reception for overseas guests on coronation eve.
The White House said that President Biden and King Charles spoke on the phone before the May 6 crowning, mentioning that the president hoped to meet with the monarch in the U.K.
“President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke today with King Charles III, underscoring the strength of the relationship between our countries and the friendship between our people,” a readout of the call released by the White House read “The President congratulated the King on his upcoming Coronation and informed him that First Lady Jill Biden looks forward to attending on behalf of the United States. The President also conveyed his desire to meet with the King in the United Kingdom at a future date.”
Biden and King Charles have met a number of times in recent years, from a 2015 meeting in the Oval Office of the White House with then-President Barack Obama and Queen Camilla (who was then known as the Duchess of Cornwall) to the COP26 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland in 2021.
Earlier that year, Biden and his wife met with Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle in June just a few months after he took office. Biden would be the 13th and final American president Queen Elizabeth met during her historic reign.
The president and first lady represented the U.S. at her state funeral in September 2022.
