The US leader and his wife arrived at London Stanstead airport late Saturday night for the monarch’s funeral, which will take place on Monday.
The event is expected to draw 2,000 attendees, made up of foreign dignitaries and royals from around the world, to Westminster Abbey. Former US presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama are not included on the guest list, Insider’s Bethany Dawson reported.
The Bidens were photographed overlooking the Queen’s coffin from a balcony at Westminster, according to Reuters. The president made the sign of the cross before placing his hand on his heart for a brief moment and was also photographed signing a book of condolences at Lancaster House, via the outlet.
<img class=”lazy-image” src=”data:;base64,” alt=”President Joe Biden signs a book of condolence at Lancaster House in London on September 18, 2022.” data-content-type=”image/jpeg” data-srcs=”{“https://i.insider.com/63274b52edbe7f00190eb8e5”:{“contentType”:”image/jpeg”,”aspectRatioW”:5048,”aspectRatioH”:3505}}” />
According to People, the president and the first lady are also expected to attend a reception for world leaders held at Buckingham Palace by King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort. Biden was set to meet Prime Minister Liz Truss but has rescheduled their meeting to Wednesday, according to Politico.
The Queen’s coffin has been lying in state since Wednesday, giving hundreds of thousands of mourners the chance to pay tribute to the monarch before she’s laid to rest.
According to the United Kingdom’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, entry to the hours-long queue will close at some point on Sunday. It’s unclear when the decision will be announced.