Joe Biden ‘too old to travel’, likely to skip King Charles III's coronation, says report
2 min read . Updated: 02 Apr 2023, 06:28 PM IST
Premium- There ‘may still be some efforts under way to see if Biden can be persuaded to come to King Charles III's Coronation’, the report added.
United States President Joe Biden is likely to skip the coronation ceremony of Britain's King Charless III, scheduled to be held thid May. A report by UK daily The Telegraph suggests that Joe Biden is likely to skip the ceremony and his wife and First Lady Jill Biden is likely to attend the ceremony.
According to the report on The Telegraph, the people familiar with the development have said that the US president is “not expected" to be in the UK for the coronation.
Karen Pierce, the British ambassador to the US and Buckingham Palace had “cordial and diplomatic" talks with the White House about the coronation, the report claimed but Joe Biden's aides told the Palace that he had prior commitments.
Further the report also stated that people in the White House has stated that Biden is ‘too old to travel’.
However, the report also said that there “may still be some efforts under way to see if Biden can be persuaded to come to the Coronation", while another said that his plan was “not locked and loaded".
In September, Joe Biden and his wife had visited the UK to join world leaders at Westminster Abbey in paying their respects to late Queen Elizabeth II.
Among those who are expected to attend the ceremony are David Beckham, and his wife Victoria Beckham who also attended the Queen’s funeral. Former Grey’s Anatomy star Sandra Oh, musicians Gregory Charles and Olympic gold medallist swimmer Mark Tewksbury are also likely to join.
Confusion remains over whether Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would be present. However, the couple have been invited.
Meanwhile, the UK has unveiled about 8 million-pound funding for its public sector authorities to be able to apply for a free portrait of King Charles III as part of a scheme to celebrate the new reign after Queen Elizabeth II's death last year.
The Cabinet Office said councils, courts, schools, police forces, fire and rescue services and other state-funded organisations will be among the public institutions across the length and breadth of the UK to be offered a new official portrait photograph of the 74-year-old monarch, funded by the UK taxpayers.