After a successful G7 summit at Cornwall in Britain, President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden went to Windsor Castle to meet the Queen. This was the second time he was meeting her. According to his memoir published several years ago, the senator of Irish descent was told not to bow down to her, by his mother before he met her in 1982. He did not bow down to her in his second visit on Sunday, as well.
After his meeting he described Queen Elizabeth as an “extremely gracious” woman who reminded him of his mother. He also said that they had a great talk. This was the Queen’s first one-to-one visit with a world leader since the pandemic began and after the death of her husband Prince Phillip. It was an informal meeting over tea.
Earlier, on Friday, the Queen had attended a reception held at a biosphere in Cornwall. She had joined the world leaders after their G7 summit and had joked with them asking them if they were supposed to look as if they were enjoying themselves. There was also a photo of her talking to the Biden’s outside the domes and Prince Charles and his wife Camilla were in the background, holding drinks.
We’re working to tackle this century’s most pressing challenges – together. pic.twitter.com/DJYSnh4jUd
— President Biden (@POTUS) June 14, 2021
President Biden said that the Queen had asked him about Russian President Vladimir Putin, during their personal conversation. He also said that he wished that he could have spent a longer time speaking to her, when he spoke at Heathrow, before he left for Brussels. The Biden’s were with Queen Elizabeth II for almost an hour.
He also called her generous and said that she reminded him of his mother “in terms of the look of her and the generosity.” He also said that he didn’t think she would be insulted by the comparison. When asked if he had invited her to the White House he answered in the affirmative.
Unlike recent former presidents Barack Obama and President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden is not an Anglophile, given his Irish roots. However, he was also charmed by the Queen and compared her to his mother, a fiercely Irish woman with the Irish surname Finnegan.
Image Credit White House
