First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Queen Elizabeth and President Joe Biden.Photo: STEVE PARSONS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
First LadyJill Bidenexpressed condolences Tuesday for the royal family as theymourntheir beloved matriarch,Queen Elizabeth, and shared a fond memory of a teatime visit with the late monarch, whodied Sept. 8 at 96.
“First, I want to say that our hearts are with the Queen’s family,” Dr. Biden, 71, told Sheinelle Jones in aninterview onToday.
Queen Elizabeth hosted Dr. Biden and her husband, PresidentJoe Biden, at Windsor Castle on June 13, 2021 following the G-7 summit. The visit was among the Queen’s first public engagementsfollowing the death of her husband Prince Philipin April 2021. It also marked the 13th time a sitting U.S. president met with the Queen during her record-breaking 70-year reign.
“What I loved about her was that she was really independent. We went up to her living room and they said to us, ‘Don’t talk about family,’ " Dr. Biden recalled in herTodayinterview of the 2021 visit. “So we went up and so the first thing she starts with is family. SoPrince Philiphad just died recently, and I think she knows Joe. I think she just wanted to talk about her husband.”
First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Queen Elizabeth, President Joe Biden.TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images
The president said at the time thatQueen Elizabethwas “very gracious” and that she reminded him of his mother.
“She poured tea, and Joe and I said, ‘Oh, let us help you,’ " Dr. Biden continued, to which the Queen replied, “No,” the first lady added.
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“‘You sit there, and I’ll get the tea,'” the Queen then said, according to Dr. Biden. “And then she had such curiosity. She wanted to know all about American politics, what was happening. So she put us at ease.”
The Bidens will reportedly be theonly U.S. delegatesin attendance on Monday at the funeral ofQueen Elizabeth.
On Thursday, the Bidens visited the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., to pay tribute to the Queen and sign her condolence book.
First Lady Jill Biden.Today/Youtube
“In a world of constant change, she was a steadying presence and a source of comfort and pride for generations of Britons, including many who have never known their country without her,” the president and his wifesaid in a statementafter her death.
“Queen ElizabethII was a stateswoman of unmatched dignity and constancy who deepened the bedrock Alliance between the United Kingdom and the United States,” they added. “She helped make our relationship special.”
source: people.com
