A tea time today with Her Majesty, for Joe Biden, who thus becomes the fifth American president welcomed at Windsor Castle: after Trump, Obama, George W. Bush and Reagan. And the thirteenth tenant of the White House guest of Elizabeth in almost 70 years of reign (which will celebrate in 2022). The only one he has never met? Lyndon Johnson.
Guard of honor
The Queen will attend Biden in the Windsor Quadrangle where the Grenadier Guards will give the Royal Salute and sing the American anthem. Then the president will review the Honor Guard with Major James Taylor and Major Christopher Ghika. Then the expected tea time. With Joe and Jill who on June 10 – on the date that would mark Philip’s century – had addressed his “condolences on what would have been Prince Philip’s hundredth birthday” to the queen. A gesture much appreciated by the queen.
Tea time with Trump
In 2018, also in Windsor, the queen offered tea to her predecessor, Donald Trump, in the Castle’s Oak Room (but the following year Trump was instead served a banquet at Buckingham Palace). Also in 2019 there was a tea for the truth, but not with the queen, but at Clarence House. Carlo’s home and headquarters. And it was not at all obvious that Trump would see the heir to the British throne after a close encounter had already vanished: one thing to distance the two personalities, first of all, is the different attitude towards the environment, sustainable and environmental issues. Always the workhorse of the Prince of Wales.
Philip who restored Windsor
The new Windsor guest on this Sunday in June has a lot in common with the Prince of Wales, starting with the environmentalist opening. And, perhaps, also from the same constancy, resilience in waiting for the time of destiny. Just a tea, not a real banquet. But the symbolic value remains the same. And the magic of medieval Windsor manor does the rest. A castle that the deceased Prince Philip concretely contributed to bring back to its original splendor after the 1992 fire: he designed the new windows and oversaw the complex restoration work.
Vittoria, Louis Philippe and the Tsar
We had dinner at seven … and it was truly splendid. The king was filled with admiration for these banquets in St George’s Hall. Thus Queen Victoria noted in 1844 in her diary, and the reception to which refers the one at Windsor Castle in honor of King Louis Philippe of France, accompanied by Queen Mary Amlie. At the time of Queen Victoria, state visits – such as the one today by US President Joe accompanied by First Lady Jill Biden – were usually organized in the imposing St George’s Hall at Windsor Castle. In the vast hall where Harry and Meghan presented their Baby Archie in 2019. Alternatively, in Windsor Castle, official banquets were organized in the Waterloo Chamber, where for example Tsar Nicholas I was welcomed in 1844 and where today the lunches of the order of the Garter which meets every year in Windsor. A chance to see the Queen, William and other Royals dressed in hoods and hats, as the king’s musketeers
The other Buckingham Palace Ballroom
In short, Windsor has always been the place for great official occasions. The first truly great banquet organized in the new Buckingham Palace Ballroom, on the large horseshoe-shaped table, was only set in 1914 in honor of King Christian IX of Denmark and Queen Alexandrina, welcomed by King George V and Queen Mary . On the table, on the occasion of the Obama visit, His Majesty wanted ancient porcelain from 1787, as well as some less ancient but still splendid pieces, such as the dessert plates made in 1876, for Queen Victoria. And a menu dedicated to simplicity: lamb from the Windsor estates, a great classic of the official table at the palace, accompanied by roast potatoes, preceded by an appetizer of sole and watercress and followed by a vanilla and cherry charlotte.
Xi Jinping
Donald Trump, a guest with the Queen’s Melania at Buckingham Palace in June 2019, then tweeted to the world how gratified he felt by the invitation to the palace. ahead of President Trump, the queen recalled her first visit to the States at the invitation of President Eisenhower. (Who) as Supreme Allied Commander had the final say on the Normandy landings. Gi, from the Normandy landings to today, the Queen has become an impeccable professional. And, perhaps, unrepeatable. The same meticulous attention and attention to detail also for the banquet in honor of Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan in 2015. And everything will be perfect, as always, even today when tea is served to Joe Biden.
June 13, 2021 (change June 13, 2021 | 13:22)
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