Joe Biden and his wife Jill arrived in the United Kingdom on Saturday to attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth, whom the president of the United States described as “more than a monarch” and a woman who “defined an era”.
The queen’s state funeral on Monday will be attended by nearly 100 presidents and heads of government, and the Bidens traveled without former US presidents.
The Bidens, who joined the Queen for tea in June 2021, arrived on Air Force One at London Stansted Airport just before 10 p.m. local time (5 a.m. ET) on Saturday.
On Sunday they are expected to pay respect to the late sovereign, whose coffin is in Westminster Hall. They will then sign an official book of condolence before attending a reception hosted by King Charles.
The White House had said earlier this week that the royal invitation to the funeral, which takes place in Westminster Abbey, was only for the Bidens.
However, other members of the president’s entourage include national security adviser Jake Sullivan, deputy chief of staff Jen O’Malley Dillon, and Oval Office operations director Annie Tomasini.
Before the funeral, the world leaders were advised to use their vehicles to attend the event and were instead asked to use commercial flights and will be transported to the funeral places via buses.
However, the travel protocol does not apply to the Bidens. The president and his wife are expected to arrive at the funeral in “The Beast,” the president’s armored car. Another leader who has been granted a similar exception is Israeli President Isaac Herzog, as he will be allowed to bring his own vehicles, Politico reported.
The “two-tier” system has been met with criticism by many world leaders and their staff members, as they have also requested similar treatments, citing various reasons, including old age and security concerns.
On Saturday, Downing Street also confirmed that a planned weekend meeting with President Biden and the UK’s new prime minister, Liz Truss, will now be held on Wednesday at the UN in New York.
Downing Street did not provide further details on why the meeting with Biden was canceled, but it would have taken place against a background of disputes over the Northern Ireland protocol and difficulties in working towards a trade deal with the White House .
The queen, who died on September 8 after a 70-year reign, had met several US presidents, including, in recent years, Donald Trump, Barack Obama and George W Bush. She has met 13 of the last 14 US presidents, all except Lyndon Johnson and starting with Harry Truman in 1951 when she was still a princess.
Biden, 79, said the queen reminded him of his mother. Last week Biden said of the queen: “In a world of constant change, she was a steady presence and a source of comfort and pride for generations of Britons, including many who have never known their country without her.”
The president is very familiar with pain, having lost his adult son to cancer in 2015 and his wife and daughter to a car accident decades ago.
The president will return to Washington on Monday after the funeral.
Earlier this week, the US and UK governments played down suggestions that Biden could be banned from using a helicopter and forced to travel by bus when he and world leaders meet in London.
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