We know that the Bidens have Pelotons which have been specially altered so as not to be a security risk for the first family. Dr. Jill Biden, 71, is also a runner and according to wiki she runs five miles five times a week which is impressive. I have done about three 5Ks in my life and I’ve bragged about every one. I didn’t know that Dr. Biden does SoulCycle too. After her day of being sat at the back at the coronation she went to a SoulCycle class in London with Akshata Murthy, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s wife. Dr. Biden also attended a coronation lunch afterwards held by the Prime Minister. Here’s part of People’s writeup on this.
After a day of celebrating the coronation of King Charles, U.S. First Lady Jill Biden and Akshata Murthy, the wife of U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, attended a Soul Cycle class at the Notting Hill studio in London.
PEOPLE confirms they attended the 9:30 a.m. hour-long soul survivor class taught by Abbey Ashley, a senior instructor known for her love of Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift.
Attendees first knew something was up when over 10 security guards greeted them at the studio. Biden is a well-known regular at Soul Cycle, as is Murthy, who sometimes attends with her husband.
PEOPLE understands they struck up a bond during the coronation, perhaps over their mutual love for spinning. The duo then went on to have a well-earned feast at No. 10.
Later in the day, the Prime Minister threw a coronation Big Lunch at his residence, which Biden attended.
People across the U.K. were invited to gather with neighbors for the events as part of the coronation weekend. Originally conceived by the Eden Project, the events are intended to “boost community spirit, reduce loneliness and support charities and good causes.”
So Jill and Akshata started talking about fitness at some point and then decided to go a spin class on Sunday with their security detail. I love this story! I wonder how they got on the topic? Did Jill ask Akshata what she recommended for a workout? Was Finnegan invited and did she say it wasn’t her thing? What I wouldn’t give to have been in that spin class. I’ve done Peloton and Les Mills RPM classes but I’ve never done Soul Cycle and have heard it’s awesome. (Some of those classes are so loud you have to bring earplugs though.) Dr. Biden is 71 years old and still going to spinning classes. She’s an inspiration on a lot of levels and she represented the US well at the coronation, which is much more than they deserved.
Cheers!
Thank you, Rishi and Akshata for welcoming me to your Coronation Big Lunch as we mark this special moment in history. pic.twitter.com/cQyNwHBeWD
— Jill Biden (@FLOTUS) May 7, 2023
Brilliant afternoon welcoming some incredible community heroes to Downing Street for our very own Coronation lunch.
The rain stayed away, the cakes were delicious and even Nova was on her best behaviour 🇬🇧
From our street to yours, hope you are enjoying a great day.… pic.twitter.com/1QQT9BKQXL
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) May 7, 2023
These photos of Dr. Jill Biden and Akshata Murthy are from Friday, where they met at 10 Downing Street and visited Charles Dickens Primary School. You can tell they’re friends! Credit: Justin Ng / Avalon and Backgrid
I love our first lady. Besides being smart she always looks great.
I guess I hadn’t really thought of Dr. Biden’s age before. She looks fantastic.
She has class, self-possession, and dignity. The trifecta! And I’m delighted that these women can abandon the big-dickery power plays of their male partners and strike relationships based on commonalities and a shared sense of public service. If only we had more women on the global political stage…
Now, shallow observations: I loathe the color pink. That’s just a pet peeve; I find it infantilizing in women. No judgement. But Akshata’s dress is really lovely, and they both look delightful! Not a grim constipated face among them, which we see so often in Kate, Wills, Charles… Trump and Tucker!
They look like they really enjoy each other, that’s nice. I’m glad FLOTUS got to have a nice time with the Sunaks. I was a bit worried with all the nasty pro-Trumpiness in the tabloids, Tories, and RF that she’d be disrespected. Rishi is of course of a Tory, but he doesn’t strike me as a Trumper at all.
Looks-wise, sanity-wise, intelligence-wise he’s not Trumpian. He’s also able to speak in a normal way. However, Sunak’s government is not that far away from Trumpian in its policies.
Happy that the Tories lost big in the local elections.
Is he able to speak in a normal way? He certainly can’t move his arms, walk and talk at the same time. And his comments after the local elections about the message being sent by the electorate do not scream intelligence.
NotMyPM
What do we know about her politics?
All I’ve ever read about her are (legal) tax avoidances shenanigans and the now being investigated conflict of interest regarding a childcare company getting government money- she’s an investor and Sunak ‘forgot’ to report it.
I wouldn’t quite class Rishi as quite ‘centre right’ or ‘small c compassionate One-Nation-Tories’ but I also wouldn’t class him as a Trumper or far right.
He was not elected by the electorate so his mandate comes from the Tory Party membership (less than 0.15% of the population) , and they’ve had a lot of influence in his choice of cabinet members i.e. Suella Braverman.
That said I think Rishi and Akshata have proved that it’s just not appropriate for non-domicilliary billionaires to be PM of the UK given all the business conflicts she’s had and their complete ineptitude to relate to even your average middle class family. They’re lobbyists and were put in place by higher up lobbyists. This should never again be allowed.
Wonder whether she gave Mrs. Biden any tax-dodging tips.
Unlike the coronation back row seating by the palace, I see Dr. Biden has pride of place next to her host, the PM. Why did Chuckles demand the attendance of world leaders just to shove them in the cheap seats? Either it is a domestic event with your countrymen taking precedence or it’s an international event with your allies and power players most prominent. Total incompetent clown show.
I read somewhere that all the country leaders were seated in country names’ alphabetical order which would make sense (and that’s why Mrs Biden was seated next to Olena Zelenska.).
International seating of non commonwealth countries is done by alphabetical order to prevent this kind of speculation.
My point is why even demand non-Commonwealth countries attend if they are so unimportant to the proceedings? They didn’t attend this in the past, but the palace was briefing non-stop against Biden snubbing the entire UK while planning to put his wife in the back row anyway. Soft diplomats my ass. 🫏
I was actually really offended they put Dr. Jill and her granddaughter back in the corner, obstructed view seats. They did the same with POTUS when he attended the Queen’s funeral. They argued that time it was Joe’s fault cause he got there late because of security or something. What’s the excuse this time? She was representing the U.S. That’s the value that King Charles places on the U.S.? Good to know.
Also, don’t expect Joe back anytime soon, a**holes.
Yeah, but they’re Democrats, so probably Tories influence that wanted to humiliate them.
I’m also not going to gush over the PM and his wife. In the end, he’s still a Tory.
Canadian here. Protocol is to seat non-Commonwealth guests in alphabetical order while guests such as PM Trudeau, etc. are seated closer to the action. This has nothing to do with being Democrat or Rethuglican or Tory and certainly not done to humiliate her. Also, Joe will be back. Man you must have used a whole roll of tin foil for your hats.
@Jaded – precisely.
This protocol is established to avoid cries of favouritism, or the opposite. Mrs. Biden would’ve know this. Please channel your outrage toward something important.
Our First Lady could be engaging in charming soft diplomacy or maintaining her vigorous regimen, but I think she desperately wanted to avoid another conversation with Kate.
I have to admit I wasn’t thrilled when Joe Biden announced that Jill would be going to the coronation. After what the Charles, the British media, and Tories pulled with Joe and by extension America- bullying in the papers and calling him old- I was of the mind that they should stay home and send no one. It’s a good thing I’m not the president. Joe and Jill handled this beautifully and I while I don’t like Rishi Sunak, his wife is charming and great host.
I have suspected for a while that the UK’s heavily rightwing influenced media likes to give the Republicans any help they can in trying to humiliate the Bidens. Not surprised by the Camilla fart story at all, seeing how she buddies up with some of the worst of them.
That’s why I loved his Irish visit.
I loooove Akshata’s dress! It’s weird to see Dr Biden cozying up with them, though. Pretty sure she wouldn’t be going to exercise class with their US equivalents.
Jill married a politician, she knows how to play the game.
Just maybe the her US equivalents may not want to exercise with her, who is the leader of the Rethuglians?
Good grief the woman has a whole gym at the White House in which to work out. Let’s not turn this into a whole weird political conspiracy theory.
This is international, it’s not about which political party is in power within the country. Tony Blair sucked up to Clinton just as much as Bush.
For crying out loud, this is soft diplomacy not a political gotcha. It’s called being civil even if you don’t like the other person (NOT saying that’s the case here).
Sunak working on an invitation to the White House, with Chucky wanting a State Dinner.
I don’t care for Rishi. Jill looks great.
My sentiments exactly
Also don’t care for Rishi and I am happy that the conservative lost BIG in the elections
Dr Biden can spin with whoever she chooses but Akshata Murthy goes to crazy lengths to avoid paying taxes she owes in the UK on her billions while nurses resort to foodbanks as we are repeatedly told there is not enough money to give them an insanely deserved rise and it is very, very not right.
I’m 70 and do an hour on my stationary bike twice a week, an hour on my rowing machine twice a week, as well as weight work twice a week. Can’t run because I have some lower back issues, but yes, it is possible for us “olds” to maintain fitness. Good for Dr. Jill, and I’m sick of reading comments dragging her for her great diplomatic skills. Just because she goes to a soul cycle class with Rishi Sunak’s wife doesn’t make her the devil incarnate.
She did her job in the UK but with what happened with Angel Reese, and as a black woman, she is the type of white woman that I don’t trust.
I do so love Dr Biden. I’ve never tried SoulCycle but I love StarCycle, I think they’re similar. I recently tried Peloton and I didn’t love it as much as the StarCycle classes and bikes.
In my experience the type of people who attend soul cycle classes frequently are looking for a “I worked out hard and want to feel it later” high. They adapt and level up intensity eventually to keep chasing that high. The people there are either casual sadists in the exercise world or someone who wants to feel focused and in control of themselves by pushing their own boundaries or testing their own limits, because somewhere else in their life they aren’t getting to control an aspect or test/push those boundaries/limits. It’s always interesting to see the privileged older women casually keep pace with the athletic endurance executive in their 30s and smoke the beginner who looks fit in their 20s.
That’s the most ridiculous comment on this post. The woman runs 5 miles 5 times a week as well as taking spin classes. She’s in fabulous shape — have you seen her legs???? I suppose you think, at 70 years old, I’m one of those lazy cyclers who do an hour slowly. Well I don’t. I work bloody hard with intermittent sprints at top tension FOR AN HOUR. I’m a sweaty, puffing mess when I finish. In MY experience you seem to be the type of person who enjoys being condescending, smug and judgmental.