US President Joe Biden and Queen Elizabeth are set to see each other face-to-face this month, Buckingham Palace has confirmed.
CNN was the first to report the news last week that the White House and Buckingham Palace were finalising meeting details.
After the visit, which is scheduled for Sunday, June 13, Biden will attend a NATO meeting in Brussels on June 14 and later meet with President Vladimir Putin on June 16 in Switzerland.
Biden will be the 13th president Queen Elizabeth has met in her lifetime, with the only exception being Lyndon B. Johnson (though as fans of The Crown might recall, Johnson did meet Princess Margaret at the White House).
Queen Elizabeth and the president have been in touch over the past few months. The queen privately sent a note of congratulations to Biden on Inauguration Day in January. Following the death of Prince Philip in April, Biden expressed his condolences to the queen.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki also communicated a message of solidarity after Meghan Markle and Prince’s Harry interview with Oprah aired in March.
“For anyone to come forward and speak about their own struggles with mental health and tell their own personal story, that takes courage,” Psaki said at the time. “And that’s certainly something the president believes. And he’s talked about the importance of investing in these areas.”
The president and first lady are already quite friendly with the Duke of Sussex, as the trio have spent time together during Harry’s trip to the U.S. in 2015 and at the 2014, 2016 and 2017 Invictus Games.
The first couple also made a virtual appearance at Global Citizen’s Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World earlier this month. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex served as co-chairs of the star-studded event.