President Joe Biden will be meeting the United Kingdom's Queen Elizabeth II on June 13, his first trip abroad since taking office. They will meet at the Windsor Castle for a one-on-one discussion, declared Buckingham Palace on Thursday.
The monarch's meeting with Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will go amidst Biden's visit to Britain for the upcoming G7 summit.
President Biden will become the 13th US president that the 95-year-old monarch will meet in the course of her record-breaking reign. It will also be her first significant engagement since the death of her husband, Prince Philip, in April.
The British monarch spent most of her time during the pandemic west of London at Windsor, the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world.
In the span of her reign, the Queen has met with all United States presidents excluding Lyndon Johnson. Queen Elizabeth also previously met former President Donald Trump and former First Lady Melania Trump at Buckingham Palace in 2019, reported BBC.
G7 Leaders
The UK is hosting G7 leaders in Cornwall, Britain. It will be the largest in-person diplomatic event since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The last in-person meeting among leaders of industrialized nations was held over two years ago.
The meeting will take place at Carbis Bay, a small seaside resort in Cornwall, which is about 300 miles west of London. The meeting will be held from June 11 to 13, reported NBC News.
France, Germany, and Japan are also expected to attend the summit. High on the agenda are issues such as recovery and climate change.
The event is seen as a way for the UK to show that cooperation among the nations remains strong and it still has clout in a fast-changing world. The UK hopes to use their G-7 presidency this year to help forge a post-Brexit "Global Britain" job boost for the nation.
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After Buckingham Palace announced the event, the White House confirmed the visit in a statement. The President's itinerary was also discussed, saying that there will also be stops in Switzerland and Belgium aside from the UK.
According to White House press secretary Jen Psaki, "This trip will highlight America's commitment to restoring our alliances, revitalizing the Transatlantic relationship, and working in close cooperation with our allies and multilateral partners to address global challenges and better secure America's interests," reported ABC News.
The meeting between the leaders of the US and UK has been in the works for a while, with the White House and the Palace negotiating over logistics.
Buckingham Palace issued no further information regarding the meeting between the Queen and the US president.
Windsor Castle, the location of the meeting, is no stranger to important events. It was also the setting for the wedding of her grandson Prince Harry and his American wife Meghan Markle in 2018.
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