President Joe Biden will meet Queen Elizabeth next month.
The White House are reportedly finalising plans for the US leader and his wife Jill to meet the British monarch when he flies to the UK for the Group of 7 summit in Cornwall, with the visit expected to take place after the conference and before the 78-year-old president flies to Brussels, Belgium, for a Nato meeting on 14 June.
The UK visit will mark the first overseas trip for the president, who has been focusing on domestic issues, including the US’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
And it’s unlikely the queen will be the only royal the president meets as her son, Prince Charles, and his wife the Duchess of Cornwall, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expected to be present for the meeting in order to cement the “special relationship” between the UK and the US.
Mr. Biden will be the 13th US president to meet the queen in her 69-year reign, with Lyndon Johnson the only leader of the country not to have spent time with the 95-year-old monarch because he never visited the UK during his time in office.
His predecessor Donald Trump and former First Lady Melania enjoyed tea with the queen at Windsor Castle in July 2018, before being hosted for a formal state visit to Buckingham Palace the following year.
Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has also written to the president to invite him to the House of Commons during his UK trip, in contrast to when Trump was in office and received no invitation to address parliament.
The new president’s policies are said to be a hit with Charles in particular because of his pro-environment stance.
Since taking office, Mr. Biden has rejoined the Paris climate accord, set greenhouse gas emissions targets and also made a big push for the use of sustainable energy.