The president of the United States and First Lady Jill Biden flew to London following three-day summit of leaders of the world's wealthy democracies in Cornwall, in southwestern England.
- June 14, 2021
AceShowbiz - President of the United States Joe Biden met Queen Elizabeth II during his last set-piece event on Sunday, June 13 before concluding the U.K. leg of his overseas trip. Things went smoothly aside from Biden apparently breaking royal protocol during the meeting.
According to a report by Newsweek, Biden made a mistake when he and First Lady Jill Biden arrived at Windsor Castle on helicopter Marine One for a military Guard of Honor and tea with the British monarch. According to a former royal butler, the president had his signature aviator sunglasses on when he met the Queen, while "he should have removed them."
Grand Harrold, who used to work for Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, claimed to the news outlet that Biden was allowed to wear his shades to the event. However, he was required to remove his sunglasses when he greeted Elizabeth.
"If you're meeting the queen face-to-face there's no sunglasses or anything like that at all because eye contact is quite important with any introduction," Harrold explained. "It's fine for Biden to have had sunglasses on but he should have removed them when he actually met the queen."
He continued, "Everyone else has to, it doesn't matter who you are, even royals remove sunglasses when they meet royals. It's one of those rules I always write about in my etiquette texts. It is a breach of protocol. I get the sun might have been shining in his eyes but the queen didn't have sunglasses on. Jill, the first lady, didn't have sunglasses on."
Biden and his wife flew to London following three-day summit of leaders of the world's wealthy democracies in Cornwall, in southwestern England. When they left the dais, the president tried to offer the Queen an elbow, though the 95-year-old monarch declined. She opted to use the handrail. Biden and wife reportedly spent a full hour with the queen before boarding helicopter for the return trip to London.
At Heathrow Airport, Biden recalled their meeting to reporters. "We had a long talk. She was very generous," POTUS said, 'I don't think she'd be insulted but she reminded me of my mother. In terms of the look of her and just the generosity."
