The White House said on Monday that there was no request for an official American delegation and that only President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden were invited to The Queen’s burial the following week.
The Bidens accepted a personal invitation from Buckingham Palace that was extended to the first couple late on Saturday night.
It’s unknown whether any other presidents will show up for the funeral, which will be held on September 19 at Westminster Abbey.
The palace has not said whether it would extend personal invitations to George W. Bush, Barack and Michelle Obama, Donald and Melania Trump, or anybody else. Bill and Hillary Clinton, or George W. and Laura Bush.
Obama and Trump attended opulent state banquets at Buckingham Palace as guests of The Queen.
Trump had two meetings with the Queen while he was president: once for tea at Windsor Castle in 2018 and once during a formal state visit in 2019.
During the Obamas’ 2011 official visit to Britain, they received a very uncommon request to spend the night in Buckingham Palace.
Bush hosted a state dinner for the Queen at the White House in May 2007 and was the last American president to do so.
In June 2021, Biden and Jill took tea with the queen at Windsor Castle, becoming him the last president to have met her.
The offer came from the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office of the UK on Saturday night, according to press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, and Biden publicly accepted it on Sunday morning.
She informed reporters on Air Force One while the president was flying to Boston that “the invitation given to the US government was for the President and the First Lady exclusively.”
She refused to comment on whether any previous presidents or well-known Americans had been invited to the 96-year-old monarch’s burial after she passed away on Thursday at her Balmoral residence in Scotland.
Regarding invitations, she said, “I would direct you to the United Kingdom, their government, on that etiquette.”
Former presidents often attend state funerals for prominent figures from throughout the globe.
Four presidents, including Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush, then-President Obama, and W. Bush, attended Nelson Mandela’s burial in 2013. Obama and Bush travelled to South Africa together on Air Force One.
Despite not having finalised the preparations, Biden had said on Friday that he intended to attend the burial for the Queen.
I won’t go even if I don’t yet know the specifics, he said.
The president and first lady will go to the UK on Saturday, according to a White House announcement this weekend.
Monday at Westminister Abbey is the funeral. The evening before the funeral, King Charles III is anticipated to throw a banquet at Buckingham Palace for foreign leaders.
Considering that the specifics are still being worked out, Jean-Pierre said she was unsure whether Biden will meet with the newly elected British Prime Minister Liz Truss or any other authorities while on his trip. Additionally, she said that Biden will be present at the UN General Assembly, which would begin on September 19 in New York City and coincide with the Queen’s burial.
Biden is probably going to remain at the U.S. The customary resting spot for presidents is the ambassador’s apartment. A 35-bedroom house with 12 acres of land in the heart of London is called Winfield House.
But in order to honour the late king, he may have to exchange the president Beast for a bus.
According to Politico, the palace has urged international leaders to use a coach from a location in West London to the burial ceremony rather than driving their own official vehicles.