The Truth About Queen Elizabeth's Relationship With Joe Biden
As the days draw closer and closer to June — with the 11th of the month kicking off the G7 Summit hosted this year in the British city of Cornwall — many are looking forward to another big event. June will also mark Joe Biden's first in-person meeting with Queen Elizabeth II as president, per Reuters. The early visit seems to signal a change from the relationship between the United Kingdom and the previous administration under ex-President Donald Trump, which was marked by infrequent visits, despite Trump's prior false boasts about having business ties to the British royal family, per CNN.
As the outlet noted in 2019, Trump reportedly planted fake stories in tabloids about how various members of the Windsor family were considering buying some of his real estate properties in the '80s and '90s. "All of them [the stories] were unequivocally shot down by Buckingham Palace," per CNN. "One such instance occurred in the lead up to the Trump Tower's February 1983 opening, when a persistent rumor kept appearing that Prince Charles and his then-new wife Diana were looking at buying an apartment in the building."
Considering the tide might be turning, it begs the question: what's the relationship like between President Joe Biden and Queen Elizabeth II? Keep on reading after the jump to find out more.
Queen Elizabeth II and President Joe Biden's relationship looks promising
Shortly after President Joe Biden was inaugurated in January, it was reported that Queen Elizabeth II had sent him a personal message before he was sworn in, in which she purportedly expressed her congratulations. This gesture is apparently rare, though it cannot be verified whether or not the queen also sent private messages to Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump. As Town & Country Magazine reported, however, the content of the message is technically still unknown.
While the queen might have warm feelings towards Biden, her relationship with him is certainly not the closest she's had to any commanders-in-chief before him, all of whom she met with in-person, beginning with Harry S. Truman in 1951 (and with the exception of Lyndon B. Johnson). Among the 12 of 13 sitting presidents she's met with (per Town & Country), Elizabeth was especially close to Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy, both of whom she considered friends, as well as Ronald Reagan, who she later knighted for his involvement in the Falklands War, per Insider. There have been some interesting friendships as well — former President George H.W. Bush hosted Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Harry to a Baltimore Orioles vs. Oakland Athletics game in 1991, per Insider, "the first time the queen had been to a baseball game."
Since the queen has already met with Biden while he was vice president, it will be interesting to see how their bond develops!