Jill Biden leads US delegation to the coronation of King Charles III

Jill Biden will lead the US delegation to the coronation of King Charles III and represent America at the inauguration of the new British monarch in place of President Joe Biden, who will not attend.

President Biden called King Charles on Tuesday to say the first lady would go on his behalf, a well-known source told the DailyMail.com.

She will attend the May 6 ceremony at Westminster Abbey in London, where coronations have taken place for nearly 1,000 years.

The first lady will take charge of the Biden administration during the landmark event, amid concerns that some would view the president’s absence as disapproval. Questions have been raised about Joe Biden’s commitment to the “special relationship” with Britain, given his professed love for Ireland.

Both US and UK officials have said the relationship between the two nations remains strong and essential. And they point out that presidents typically do not attend coronations.

But the timing of the event is sensitive. The coronation will take place shortly after Biden’s expected trip to Northern Ireland and the Republic, where he will celebrate the Good Friday Agreement but is not expected to sit down with the king.

The president is proud of his Irish roots and speaks of it often. He is not afraid to speak his mind on Irish affairs and expressed his support for the protection of the Good Friday Agreement as Britain negotiated Brexit trade rules with the European Union.

The government insisted that London respect the Northern Ireland Protocol, an agreement with the European Union that draws a customs border in the Irish Sea between mainland Britain and Northern Ireland.

British loyalists complained that the protocol is bringing Northern Ireland closer to the neighboring Republic of Ireland. There are Protestant suspicions that the Catholic Biden favors a united Ireland, but the president has not publicly expressed support for such a move.

The White House has not announced Biden’s trip to Ireland, but British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak formally invited the president to come when he met him in San Diego last month. Biden accepted.

Sunak helped negotiate the Windsor Framework, which resolved the trade dispute and paved the way for Biden’s visit to Northern Ireland and the Republic.

While touring Ireland, Biden will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, which ended 30 years of sectarian violence between pro-Irish Catholics and pro-British Protestants. He is also expected to visit relatives – his distant cousins, the Finnegans – who live in counties Louth and Mayo.

But the president’s time is expected to be earlier than a formal, official celebration of the Good Friday Agreement with King Charles, Sunak, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Then-President Bill Clinton helped negotiate the agreement.

It is unclear whether Biden will meet Sunak or other British political officials during his tour of Ireland.

But Biden has not met King Charles since he ascended the throne and is not expected to meet him while in Ireland.

However, Biden met Charles when he was Prince of Wales.

The two men had a one-on-one meeting at the COP26 climate summit in Scotland in October 2021. Both care about environmental issues.

As king, Charles is above politics, but he is head of state and plays an important role in the special, essential relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.

However, there is precedent for the President of the United States not to attend a royal coronation.

For example, President Eisenhower was not present at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Instead, the US delegation consisted of Earl Warren, then the governor of California; George Marshall, former Secretary of State; and Omar Bradley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

But several heads of state, including those of France, Spain, Ireland, Japan and Monaco, will be on hand to see Charles crowned.

Prince William and Princess Catherine are expected to play major roles and their three children – George, Charlotte and Louis – are expected to attend at least part of the lavish ceremony.

It remains unclear whether Harry and Meghan will attend amid strained relations with the royal family.

But Charles is planning a smaller ceremony for his formal enthronement, cutting thousands off the list compared to the nearly 8,000 who attended his mother’s coronation in 1953.

The Archbishop of Canterbury will preside over the ceremony and crown both King Charles and the Queen’s consort Camilla.

It is expected to last about an hour compared to Queen Elizabeth II’s, which lasted nearly three hours.

Still, England will be given a three-day holiday weekend and there will be multiple public celebrations, including parades, street parties and picnics, to mark the occasion.

Charles officially became king after the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II in September last year.

Both Bidens attended the Queen’s funeral.