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President Joe Biden would not attend the May 6 coronation of King Charles III and his wife, the Queen Consort, Camilla.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
The United States would be “well represented” by its First Lady, Jill Biden, the White House said, as it confirmed that U.S. President Joe Biden would not attend the May 6 coronation of King Charles III and his wife, the Queen Consort, Camilla.
Mr. Biden had told the King that Dr. Biden (i.e., Ms. Biden ) would attend the event, the White House said.
During the Tuesday phone call between the President and the King, Mr. Biden underscored “the strength of the relationship“ between the U.S. and the U.K., as per a readout of the call, released by the White House.
The U.S. is keen for the President’s absence from the event not to be seen as a downgrading of the “special relationship” which had come under some strain after U.K’s exit from the EU had raised questions around the trade relationship between Northern Ireland (which is part of the U.K.) and Ireland and the rest of the EU.
The Rishi Sunak government had successfully concluded a trade arrangement with the EU (the Windsor Framework) in February, which does not require a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, thus addressing the concerns of several stakeholders, including the U.S.
White House spokesperson John Kirby reiterated the “special” nature of the Anglo-American relationship on Monday, telling reporters on a briefing call that there was a precedent for only the First Lady attending British coronations.
He cited the example of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953, which was attended by U.S. First Lady Mamie Eisenhower and not President Dwight Eisenhower.
Mr. Biden is due to visit the U.K. and Ireland soon — with a trip planned for April 11-14 to celebrate 25 years of the Irish peace treaty, the ‘Good Friday agreement’.
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