Given that President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden already met Queen Elizabeth in Cornwall last Friday, it seems like overkill that the British government wanted the Bidens to come to Windsor Castle for a formal photo-op and tea. I mean… President Biden has better things to do, and he already spent some time with Liz at a handful of events in Cornwall, including the official greeting and the Eden Project reception. So why did the Bidens have to schlep all the way to Windsor? I still don’t know.
The Bidens ended up getting much the same kind of reception that Donald and Melania Trump got for their first visit. A stop by Windsor Castle, a military review, a formal photo inside the castle, and then tea. My favorite part is that President Biden forgot to remove his sunglasses as he got out of the armored car, so he strutted up to the Queen looking like he was about to ask where he should park his Trans Am. “Do you remember my girl Jilly? You met her on Friday, say hello, Jilly.”
The First Lady’s office refused to comment on who designed her lovely blue suit, but it’s something she’s worn before and it’s clearly one of her favorites. Liz wore a pink floral dress and accessorized with the Jardine Star Brooch, which she wears often, especially when she’s meeting with American presidents.
I’m including the video below of the external part of the visit to Windsor. It doesn’t look to me like Dr. Biden curtsied nor did President Biden bow? Which is fine, they’re not required to as Americans, and I bet Joe thinks all of this is a bunch of malarkey anyway. I think he reached out to offer the Queen his arm or his hand at a few different moments. Joe and Jill also hold hands as often as possible.
Photos courtesy of Getty, Avalon Red.
Joe’s aviators are the best, lol! Yeah he was probably over the malarkey at this point. Sunglasses can hide the eye rolls. Hopefully, Jill has a pair too.
They’ve been his trademark forever. 🙂
Let’s be real, the man knows he looks good in his aviators, and I am not mad at him even a little bit. The man is the same age as my Mom, which should make me dry heave, but put him in aviators and a suit, and he’s dreamy.
Joe and Jill remind me of me and my husband in that they seem to fill each other up with support, a hand hold in a high pressure moment is beautiful.
I think all the nonsense for the queen is a bunch of malarky, also! It’s not 1550 already. I would have a very hard time genuflecting if I met the queen and in fact I think I would decline to do so in any way. I’d treat her with the same respect and normalcy I treat anyone. I see the same attitude from Joe I think. He’s just being respectful but not playing into the outdated medieval fawning.
Completely agree. I hope the leader of a free country didn’t bow down to any of them. They want to be diplomats for the UK, treat them the same as any other diplomat.
For Americans that nonsense with “royalty” was settled hundreds of years ago.
Joe is Irish American. He knows *exactly* who these people are.
Exactly. Thank you! I saw all these articles about what they should do when meeting the Queen, and I’m like, wtf?
Oh yeah, that plays in I bet. He’s my grandfathers age(ish). My grandfather was first generation and considered the English the ancient oppressors of his people, and was very open in saying so!
Piratewench, did they say this about the other world leaders? You know, the Brits (I know that it’s not every Brit) really can’t help but show they think Americans are classless and common, huh? Good look UK, way to win us over!
It looked really bright out!!!! I don’t blame him for keeping those sunglasses on.
Same. My eyes are really sensitive to light and I wear sunglasses even on overcast days. I own more pairs of sunglasses that I do shoes LOL. But the plus side, I’m 39 with no crows feet so……
Yep it was almost 30 degrees in London yesterday and we all wore sunglasses most of the time.
This. Bright sunlight is downright painful, so either I wear the sun glasses or you can have all of the pictures of me squinting and looking pained.
My thought too. He can protect his eyes if he wants to.
When you get to be Joe’s age (I’m right behind him) chances are good you’ve had cataract surgery. Since mine I have to wear sunglasses pretty much all the outdoor time unless it’s raining.
Folks were tryna bug out about how they didn’t courtesy. POTUS and FLOTUS are AMERICANS and are not apart of the monarchy or its commonwealth. Remember the Boston Tea Party and subsequent American Revolution. Dullard Brits.
AND he’s Irish, trust me, we got a long memory for that isht. No one on my dad’s side would ever consider bowing to the damn Queen.
Im one hundred percent Irish and disagree. I think the shades are sorta strange, she’s the leader of England whether you like her or not.
LOL! That was my thougt pretty much too, “Of course they didn’t bow. That’s pretty much the point! USA won that war!” LOL.
The queen is not important in the grand scheme of things and I’m tired of people saying, “well they’re both heads of state” or wondering how Biden will behave. There is no comparison between an unelected, symbolic leader who is accountable to nothing and a president who actually runs a country. SHE should be trying to impress him. Keep the glasses on Biden.
To the tenth power
Ahahahaha! SHADE!
(I couldn’t resist.)
It was very sunny and it looked like the sun was shining directly into that little tent.
I love that suit of Dr First Lady and I like that she accessorized with her own brooch.
The Queen seemed a lot more relaxed and smiled much more with this couple than the last one.
Unlike the last couple’s picture in the hallway, the President is not standing next to the dog’s bowl. Which makes me think the dog bowl placement was deliberate last time.
Yeah she seemed quite charmed by the Bidens and pleased to be hosting them. They also seemed relaxed in her company, from what he said afterwards they seemed to get on well.
I absolutely LOVE the Bidens so this isn’t a criticism, but is Dr Biden’s jacket a bit tight looking at the front, and could the arms of the jacket not be a little shorter?
Equally, when I saw Carrie Johnson’s blue trouser suit I initially thought it really nice until I saw the length of both the jacket arms and the trousers, both of which I thought looked too long.
Is it me, or is this the new styling and I’ve not noticed?
You are right, FLOTUS’s suit was ill fitting. Perhaps she, like the rest of us, put on a few pounds during the pandemic and has now belatedly discovered her professional clothing is a bit tight.
FLOTUS would have looked much sleeker if she hadn’t had her jacket buttoned across her middle, but had left it open over her dress instead. That said, the color was lovely on her.
Killfanora, well, you know, Dr. Biden pays for her own clothes. We (the taxpayers) do not. Might make a difference.
The dog’s bowl was the first thing I looked for when I saw this picture!
He didn’t give her an impromptu shoulder rub, so I think he restrained himself as much as he could 🙂
Hey I’ll take that over a POTUS that had an affair with an adult star. Neither action should be done but in desperate times you take what you can get.
Joanna, Defamation is actionable. What you say has consequences.
CORRECTION, my comment should have been directed at Mina_Esq.
That lady was Stephanie Carter, wife of SecDef Ash Carter and she’s had words to say about that photo. https://www.politico.com/story/2019/03/31/joe-biden-stephanie-carter-1246007
Are those white flowers on the Queen’s dress supposed to be lillies?
No, it’s just random flowers. I’ve seen people on Twitter yesterday try to twist into pretzels with claims that the dress was a show of “support”, but it wasn’t.
I enjoy royal gossip as much as the next person for the same reason we like any celeb gossip, but yeah, no curtsying/bowing from Americans please. We fought and WON a war to not have to bow to these people, thankyouverymuch.
It’s great to have an American president who knows how to comport himself in global relations. Also great to have an educated FLOTUS who cares and is passionate about her work.
Did Obama bow? He seems like such a BRF kiss ass. He bowed to the Japanese royal. 🤨
Regular people bow to each other too as a sign of respect in Japan. And I haven’t heard anything from President Obama about the royals one way or another so not sure where you got your assumption from.
Sites list him as bowing but it was more of a head nod. https://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/a25392223/michelle-obama-queen-protocol-rubbish/
Remember, he is half Kenyan, a commonwealth country. Perhaps it matters to him to show respect in other people’s cultures? Although, I generally agree that presidents shouldn’t bow to other heads of state.
Bowing is a sign of mutual respect not submitting to someone’s mastery. It is perfectly correct for two people to bow to each other. It’s the equivalent of shaking hands.
Ugh, please stop viewing things through a Eurocentric view when working with other cultures.
He’s the American president. He’s not going to bow to the queen and Dr. Jill is not going to curtsey and it was not a sign of disrespect. the cult surrounding the queen is starting to seem really bizarre to me.
Why does he have to take off his sunglasses? the queen wears sunglasses sometimes when she wants to. If he kept them on the whole time, eh, that’s a little weird. but as it is – he was fine.
It is so nice to have a President who isn’t a flaming hot mess of dog shite and a global embarrassment. And a FLOTUS who is an educated and classy woman.
Totally, just hope it remains so. I am nervous.
The brooch probably hides a microphone, to record the conversations. She does wear it a lot.
Isn’t this the 16th different US president during QE2’s reign? She’s probably over it too.
While queen she’s met
Eisenhower
Kennedy
Nixon
Ford
Carter
Reagan
Bush (HW)
Clinton
Bush
Obama
Trump
Biden
She met Truman before she was queen. Same with FDR and Hoover after he was President. The only President she didn’t meet was LBJ.
I can’t believe she met Eisenhower, holy crap.
Are people upset that Joe Biden didn’t take his shades off? And absolutely no one is required to bow to the Queen. It is suggested that British subjects do it as a courtesy but it’s not law that they must bow or curtsey.
Yes, there is some screeching on twitter about it (which is hilarious to me bc we have seen the queen wear sunglasses to official events, and he took them off when inside.) They were also screeching about the lack of curtsy and that Jill has a band-aid on her leg and that Jill and Joe held hands as they walked up the steps. People are nutso.
It’s the new tan suit, sigh. Meanwhile Trump can actively promote treason and no biggie :/
If Jill has an injury to her leg, what is she supposed to do other than put a bandage on it? And how is another person’s bandage situation “disrespectful” to the queen? They’re insane. I’m sure the queen DGAF about ANY of this nonsense, it’s all just an attempt by the powers that be to change the narrative to something they see as beneficial to the queen, but since they’re all out-of-touch loonies, they wind up howling about POTUS’s sunglasses and FLOTUS’s band-aid like people who have 1000% lost the plot.
I’m fine with him having to go to Windsor, he needs to get just as much as the Trumps got b/c you know Donald is assessing that to the T since he’s such an anglophile. I don’t want that treacherous scam artist to get even one inch more than Biden, I don’t want him thinking he’s special.
I don’t like the queen overall look here. Waaaaay too matchy matchy with the bright pink dress and hat. She should’ve gone with one of the flower colors for the hat if she is dead set on coordinating.
Can someone tell Jill that those shoes are too close to her skin tone? They look like creepy feet ans I can’t unsee it 😫
I don’t care for these either. Brand forward shoes are just kind of gauche, IMO, especially from a public official. I also hate sling backs! Obviously this is just my personal taste.
Bhahahha they do look so creepy
A lot of people his age have had eye procedures. You can’t face directly sunlight the same way after that.
Jill is just so lovely in every way.
That chap in the tricorn is a tall drink of water! I know he has a name and I read it somewhere, but can’t be bothered looking it up again! LOL! The very model of a modern major general (to approximate old G&S).
Let me just say, on a shallower note: As image-conscious and looks-obsessed as the US can be, especially when it comes to politicians, it’s amazing that Trump was considered anything at all. The Bidens are so much more attractive on every level. Other peoples’ body language around them speaks volumes, as does theirs around each other.
Also on a shallow note, Biden looks much younger than his 78 years, at least considering his shape and posture. He seems to be amazingly fit.
He is. The last time I got on a bike I could barely get down the driveway. Here he is almost twenty years my senior and he’s wheeling away, lol. Fitness goals for sure, lol.
Right on about his posture–he looks so tall! And not just in comparison with the Queen. I thought I’d read that Jill was 5’6″ and with those heels on she’s taller, but Joe’s towering over her. He seems so much taller than his reported height of 6 feet .
President Biden is so handsome!! I couldn’t be happier that he is President, he is a true leader, and darned if he doesn’t look great every time you see him. I just love him and Dr. Biden to bits.
Catherine has worn a plaster on a finger a time or two.
Some douche from Newsweek tried to make a thing out of this, talking about breaking protocol, and he got a lot of 1776 references in response and a reminder that Biden is an elected head of state of 330 million people, the most powerful country in the world, not some isolationist country the size of Oregon. No one is in the mood for this bs, especially after the way they’re carrying on over a baby and that limp G7 performance from the royals and Johnson.
All this protocol nonsense reminds me of a moment I told my grandma that I’m not christening my daughter. I’m from very Catolic country and church weddings and christening are sth you just do. My grandma was stunned and asked “But what will the priest say??!!” And that was the thing, we’re not christening her because we don’t care what priest says.
Brits can make their stupid rules, “stand on the left”, “scratch your ear”, ‘jump on one leg” and then scream “you’re doing it wrong! protocol breaking!” but those rules have no place in modern world. And president of a country that succeeded beyond expectation, made of people who broke away from the crazy Brits can wear his damn sunglasses when it’s sunny. It’s just becoming more and more ridiculous.