WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden mourned the dying of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday, calling her “a stateswoman of unmatched dignity and fidelity who deepened the bedrock Alliance between the UK and the US.”
In an announcement, Biden and the primary girl wrote that “Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was greater than a monarch. She outlined an period.”
“Within the years forward, we look ahead to persevering with an in depth friendship with The King and The Queen Consort. At the moment, the ideas and prayers of individuals all throughout the US are with the individuals of the UK and the Commonwealth of their grief,” he wrote. “We ship our deepest condolences to the Royal Household, who aren’t solely mourning their Queen, however their pricey mom, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Her legacy will loom giant within the pages of British historical past, and within the story of our world.”
Buckingham Palace introduced that Queen Elizabeth II died Thursday at Balmoral Fort in Scotland at age 96, bringing an finish to her 70-year reign. She was the longest-serving British monarch.
Biden, who first met the queen in 1982 as a Democratic senator from Delaware, final noticed her in June 2021 throughout a visit to the UK for the annual Group of Seven summit.
Following the summit, the queen hosted the president and the primary girl at Windsor Fort, her royal residence outdoors of London. Biden on the time described the queen as “extraordinarily gracious” and mentioned she “jogged my memory of my mom.”
Biden participated in a video name with British Prime Minister Liz Truss and different allies Thursday morning earlier than the queen’s dying was introduced and supplied his assist to the queen and the individuals of the UK.
A White Home official mentioned Truss abruptly left the decision, an indication that the queen had handed.
Queen Elizabeth met with 13 sitting U.S. presidents throughout her lifetime. Lyndon Johnson is the one one among the many final 14 presidents whom she didn’t meet.
