From left: Joe and Jill Biden.Photo: KEVIN LAMARQUE/POOL/AFP via Getty
President Joe Bidenand first ladyJill Bidenwill be only U.S. delegates in attendance next Monday at the funeral ofQueen Elizabeth II, according to new reports.
On Monday, CBS News' senior White House & political correspondent Ed O’Keefe wrote onTwitter, “NEW:@POTUSBiden and@FLOTUSBiden will be the only Americans in the official U.S. delegation to the funeral for#QueenElizabethII, a senior White House official tells me.” O’Keefe added, “‘There will be no delegation because we have only two seats for the funeral,’ the senior official says.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre clarified during a press gaggle on Monday that while she can’t speak to the funeral’s full guest list, the invitation given to the White House was only for the president and first lady.
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In the past, former U.S. presidents have also been in attendance for significant historical events such as this, leading some to wonder why the White House wasn’t provided with an open invitation to corral other U.S. figureheads.
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The Queen’s state funeralwill be held on Monday, Sept. 19.
On Thursday, the president and first lady went to the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., to pay tribute to the Queen and sign her condolence book.
“We mourn for all of you,” Biden said at the embassy. “She was a great lady. I’m so delighted I got to meet her.”
In an official statement on Thursday,Buckingham Palace announcedthatQueen Elizabeth"died peacefully" while atBalmoral Castlein Scotland.
On Sunday, the coffin bearing the Queen began a nine-day farewell journey to her final resting place in Windsor, where she will be buried alongside her parents and her husband,Prince Philip.
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On Monday,the Queen’s coffin is expected to pass along Edinburgh’s Royal Mileto St Giles' Cathedral.
In London, King Charles will likely hear both Houses of Parliament express their condolences. He andQueen Consort Camillaare then scheduled to depart for a tour of the four nations of the United Kingdom.
source: people.com
