FOG BLOG WORLD NEWS LOG: BIDEN VISITS KING CHARLES III AND PRIME MINISTER SUNAK OF THE UK!

Biden meets King Charles III for the first time since coronation

President Joe Biden and King Charles III on Monday met for the first time since the British monarch’s coronation, with the US president visiting Windsor Castle for all the pomp and circumstance that comes with a royal meeting.

Biden arrived to inspect an honor guard formed of the Prince of Wales Company of the Welsh Guards – with hundreds of uniformed troops, and its military band – positioned on the grassy quadrangle before a tent. The band played “God Save the King” upon the monarch’s arrival and “The Star-Spangled Banner” upon Biden’s entrance. The moment marked Biden’s second trip to Windsor Castle since taking office – the president met the King’s mother, Queen Elizabeth II, at her home just outside London in June 2021. The Queen met 12 US presidents spanning her reign, all but President Lyndon Johnson. The president said at the time the Queen wanted to know about Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom Biden was meeting in Switzerland days after their visit, and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Biden said he wished he could have spoken to the Queen for longer. “She was very generous,” he told reporters.

This latest meeting with Charles was a closely watched moment for how the King balances his traditionally apolitical role with a cause he is passionate about that has become a signature priority. Biden has called climate change “the existential threat to human existence as we know it.”

The meeting was also closely watched for how the two men interacted. Biden at one point put his hand on King Charles’ back, which was described as a “wonderful symbol of warmth and affection” by a royal source who spoke to CNN, denying that this action by the president broke protocol. Initiating physical contact with the monarch is generally not seen as traditional in the UK.

“[His Majesty the King is] entirely comfortable with that kind of contact – and what a wonderful symbol of warmth and affection it was between both the individuals and their nations!” the source said.

“Contrary to some reports that is, in fact, the correct protocol,” they said.