Here's How Queen Elizabeth Responded To Biden's Inauguration
As we write this, it's easy to imagine that President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden are installing themselves in their new (if familiar) White House digs. There are big things to attend to, like a mountain of executive orders. And then, there are the details. What family pictures will Biden put in the Oval Office? What color rugs will the Bidens want in their living quarters? Do their shoes get a shoe rack? Do their keys get a key bowl? Where and how will President Biden store his mail?
Because the new commander in chief is getting a lot of it already. Here's what we know. There's a note from former President Trump (somewhat surprising in its existence) and that (even more astonishingly) Biden called "very generous" (via CNN). There's the letter that Amazon sent to the newly inaugurated president, offering to assist with upcoming vaccination drives (via CNBC). Finally, there's the "private message" that Queen Elizabeth sent to Biden ahead of his Jan. 20 inauguration, as reported by The Sunday Times royal correspondent Roya Nikkhah.
Biden has of course received messages from many of the world's leaders, as they offer their congratulations and their hope for a path forward as far as U.S. foreign policy (via CNN). U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in an interview with Sky News, said that the United States and the United Kingdom share a "joint united agenda" and that the new administration was "a fantastic thing for America" (per The Guardian). Was perhaps the queen's message of similar hope?
Biden is the 14th U.S. president to hold office since the start of Queen Elizabeth's reign
Vanity Fair says that Queen Elizabeth's letter will remain as private as President Trump's letter to Joe Biden presumably will. While we can't guess as to the content of the letter, we can hedge a bet that it was personalized. Joe Biden is the 14th president to lead the U.S. during Queen Elizabeth's reign. And, considering her history with the other 13 sitting U.S. presidents, it's certain that the two will meet in the next four years. Perhaps the message was an extended invitation?
We know the question that you're dying to ask though: Will Joe Biden and Jill Biden be invited to Balmoral Castle? If so, will they pass the Balmoral Test? That's a very tentative maybe. According to TIME, Queen Elizabeth has met with every U.S. president since she became queen in 1952, with the exception of Lyndon B. Johnson. And in that time, only President Eisenhower has been invited to her summer home.
This being said, Her Majesty is said to have been quite charmed by Barack Obama. In fact, author Tom Quinn, who wrote Kensington Palace: An Intimate Memoir from Queen Mary to Meghan Markle, claims the queen developed a soft spot for America after meeting the 44th president (via British Heritage). If that's the case, perhaps Queen Elizabeth associates President Biden with former President Obama, which can only be good. Over eight years, the Obamas visited with the queen three times.
The meeting will be a first for Queen Elizabeth and President Biden
When Queen Elizabeth began her reign on Feb. 6, 1952, Harry S. Truman was president of the United States; the two had actually met a few months before in October 1951 when the queen was still a princess (per Politico). In addition to sitting U.S. presidents, Her Majesty also met 31st President Herbert Hoover (who served from 1929 to 1933) prior to becoming queen (via The Heritage Foundation).
As The Independent explains, Queen Elizabeth and President Joe Biden have not yet met, though some outlets report otherwise. While serving as vice president from 2009-17, Biden did not travel with the Obamas when they visited the United Kingdom in 2009, 2011, and 2016 (via Insider), and the queen last visited the United States in 2007, then the guest of George W. Bush and Laura Bush. And so when you think about it, the queen's Inauguration Day message to President Biden may perhaps be the first communication between the two ever!
Given all this rich history the queen has with America's leaders, it's not hard to imagine that her private message to President Biden was one of cordial friendship — even with the two yet to meet. With COVID-19 restrictions still firmly in place around the world, a visit between Queen Elizabeth and the 46th U.S. president will no doubt see delay. But it will happen; it's tradition after all. And Her Majesty's message to President-elect Biden the morning of his inauguration seems a sure sign that she looks forward to continuing it.