Biden Meets British Queen: "Seeing the Queen Reminded Me of My Mother... Invited Her to the White House"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] U.S. President Joe Biden, who visited the United Kingdom to attend the Group of Seven (G7) summit, invited Queen Elizabeth II to the White House.

According to major foreign media including the Associated Press on the 13th (local time), President Biden met the Queen and, before departing at Heathrow Airport, responded "Yes" when reporters asked if he had invited the Queen. The 78-year-old President Biden said, "The Queen's appearance and generosity remind me of my mother," adding, "The Queen is extremely elegant and wanted to know about Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping." President Biden also said, "I wanted to stay longer." The Queen is 95 years old this year.

It is known that the Queen also asked President Biden about life in the White House.

After concluding the G7 summit held in Cornwall, President Biden headed to Windsor Castle with First Lady Jill Biden.

President Biden is the 13th sitting U.S. president to meet the British Queen and the 4th U.S. president to have an audience with the Queen at Windsor Castle. The first U.S. president the Queen met was Harry Truman in 1951.

This meeting was the second time they met, following a reception hosted by the Queen on the 11th in Cornwall during the G7 event.

The Queen welcomed the Bidens at the podium in the courtyard of Windsor Castle.

The honor guard fired a salute and the U.S. national anthem was played. Then President Biden reviewed the honor guard.

Afterwards, the Queen and the Bidens went inside to the Oak Room, where they enjoyed about 40 minutes of British-style tea time and left at 6 p.m. According to the BBC, the Bidens stayed at Windsor Castle for about an hour, approximately 10 minutes longer than scheduled.

First Lady Jill Biden said upon arriving in the UK on the 10th, "We are looking forward to meeting the Queen, and that schedule is the exciting part of this trip."

Meanwhile, after meeting the Queen, President Biden departed for Brussels, Belgium on the 14th to attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit and on the 15th the U.S.-European Union (EU) summit.