Connect with us

Published

on

US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will meet the Queen at Windsor Castle later.

The couple will receive a guard of honour and tea during the visit, which comes after they last met during the G7 summit in Cornwall.

But this afternoon’s private time with the monarch can be seen as a significant diplomatic gift from the UK government, keen to shore up a relationship with the new president.

The Queen speaks to Joe and Jill Biden as they attend a reception at the Eden Project for G7 leaders, including Boris Johnson
Image:
The Queen also met the Bidens during the G7 summit in Cornwall

The Queen will greet the Bidens inside the castle grounds, where a guard of honour formed of The Queen’s Company First Battalion Grenadier Guards will give a royal salute, and the US national anthem will be played.

Mr Biden will accompany the officer commanding the guard of honour, Major James Taylor, and Major General Christopher Ghika, to inspect the honour guard.

After the formal ceremonial arrival, the Bidens will join the monarch inside the castle for tea.

In 2018, the Queen accompanied then-president Donald Trump to inspect the guard of honour at Windsor.

More on Joe Biden

Pictures appeared to show Mr Trump walking in front of the Queen, seen by some as a diplomatic faux pas.

Democratic strategist Laura Fink told Sky News that Mr Biden will see the visit as huge honour, and she wouldn’t be surprised if they had a lot in common.

FILE - In this Friday, July 13, 2018 file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump and Britain's Queen Elizabeth inspects the Guard of Honour at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England. U.S. President Donald Trump will pay a state visit to Britain in June as a guest of Queen Elizabeth II, Buckingham Palace said Tuesday, April 23, 2019. The palace said Trump and his wife, Melania, had accepted an invitation from the queen for a visit that will take place June 3-5. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, file)
Image:
Donald Trump appeared to walk in front of the Queen during a 2018 visit. Pic: AP

She said: “It’s funny because with Donald Trump, he said it’s the best time she’s had in 25 years following the event and I thought that was characteristic of his bombast.

“I think it’s going to be 180-degree shift with Joe Biden.

“He is understated, he’s someone who connects with people on a deeply personal level.

“I think right now with the recent passing of Prince Philip and the experiences that President Biden has had with loss in his own life, he tends to lead with empathy and connection and of course good humour.

“So I think it’ll be a much more understated event with fewer stories of the presidential eclipse with President Trump walking ahead of the Queen, and more about the connection between two individuals that have led their countries for quite some time.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Queen jokes with G7 leaders during photocall

There have been 14 US presidents during the Queen’s 69-year reign – from Harry S Truman to Mr Biden.

Mr Biden will be the 13th American leader to meet the monarch, with Lyndon B Johnson the only one the Queen did not meet.

The Royal Family is seen as a hugely important diplomatic asset for the UK.

The emphasis on shared interests started on Friday with the Duchess of Cambridge hosting First Lady Jill Biden during a visit to a school in Cornwall, before joining the Queen and other members of the family at a reception for the G7 leaders.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Queen cuts cake – with not a knife but a ceremonial sword

Lord Darroch, who was the UK’s ambassador in Washington during the Trump administration, said nothing compares to the Queen’s subtle influence.

He said: “There is just an extraordinary fascination which is very lucky for us, they (the Royal Family) are a huge national asset, and that helps greatly, I think.

“It’s part of soft power diplomacy. A big part.”

Listen and follow the All Out Politics podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker

Speaking about how the Queen will prepare for the meeting he said: “Yes, there will be a Foreign Office briefing provided for her and, yes, she will read it and she will get it all, she will pack it away and that will be part of the material for her conversation with him.

“But she’s just so experienced at doing this, I’m sure she can manage without the briefing, but she will take the briefing and she will absorb it.”

The Queen prepares to receive the salute during a ceremony at Windsor Castle to mark her official birthday
Image:
The Queen was at Windsor on Saturday to mark her birthday

The visit from the president concludes a very busy weekend for the 95-year-old monarch.

On Friday, she travelled to Cornwall for the G7 leaders’ reception, before heading back to Windsor for her official birthday parade on Saturday.

Continue Reading

US

Former United States secretary of state Henry Kissinger has died aged 100

Published

on

By

Former United States secretary of state Henry Kissinger has died aged 100

Former United States secretary of state Henry Kissinger has died aged 100.

He passed away at his home in Connecticut on Wednesday, according to a statement from Kissinger Associates Inc.

The veteran politician had major influence on American foreign policy under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.

Born in Germany in 1923, Mr Kissinger fled the Nazi regime with his family as a teenager and settled in the US in 1938.

During eight years as a national security adviser and secretary of state, Dr Kissinger was involved in major foreign policy events including the first example of “shuttle diplomacy” seeking peace in the Middle East, secret negotiations with China to defrost relations between the burgeoning superpowers and the instigation of the Paris peace talks seeking an end to the Vietnam conflict.

Mr Kissinger with President Gerald Ford and Chairman Mao Zedong in Beijing in 1975
Image:
Dr Kissinger with President Gerald Ford and Chairman Mao Zedong in Beijing in 1975

In 1973 he was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to negotiate an end to the Vietnam War.

However, Dr Kissinger, along with President Nixon, also bore the brunt of criticism from the US’s allies following the fall of Saigon to North Vietnamese forces in 1975 as the remaining US personnel fled what is now known as Ho Chi Minh City.

More from US

Henry Kissinger meeting President Xi Jinping in Beijing earlier this year. Pic: AP
Image:
Henry Kissinger meeting President Xi Jinping in Beijing earlier this year. Pic: AP

His influence over US diplomacy – which continued long after he left office – has not been without controversy, and some activists called for him to be prosecuted for war crimes.

He remained active in politics, even after his 100th birthday in May, attending meetings in the White House, publishing a book on leadership styles, and testifying before a Senate committee about the nuclear threat posed by North Korea.

In July 2023 he made a surprise visit to Beijing to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.

During his early life, after becoming a naturalised US citizen in 1943, Dr Kissinger joined the US Army the same year and was awarded a Bronze Star.

He would go on to serve with US counter intelligence in occupied Germany.

Dr Kissinger earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD degrees at Harvard University, where he taught international relations for almost 20 years before President Nixon appointed him national security advisor in 1969.

Henry Kissinger with Richard Nixon and Israeli prime minister Golda Meir
Image:
Henry Kissinger with Richard Nixon and Israeli prime minister Golda Meir

He is survived by his wife of nearly 50 years, Nancy Maginnes Kissinger, two children by his first marriage, David and Elizabeth, and five grandchildren.

According to the statement from Kissinger Associates: “He will be interred at a private family service. At a later date, there will be a memorial service in New York City.”

Senator and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney paid tribute to Dr Kissinger on X describing him as a “great one” and saying: “Fortunate indeed is America for his lifetime of diplomacy, wisdom, and love of freedom.”

Winston Lord, former US ambassador to China and Dr Kissinger’s one time special assistant said: “The world has lost a tireless advocate for peace.

“America has lost a towering champion for the national interest. I have lost a cherished friend and mentor.

“Henry blended the European sense of tragedy and the American immigrant’s sense of hope.”

Cindy McCain, the wife of late Senator John McCain said: “Henry Kissinger was ever present in my late husband’s life.

“While John was a POW and in the later years as a Senator & statesman.

“The McCain family will miss his wit, charm, and intelligence terribly.”

Continue Reading

US

US military aircraft with six people on board crashes off Japanese island

Published

on

By

US military aircraft with six people on board crashes off Japanese island

At least one person has died after a US military aircraft crashed off the coast of a Japanese island.

Six crew members were on board the Osprey aircraft when it crashed on Wednesday.

The Japanese coastguard said one crew member had been found – and was later pronounced dead – along with grey-coloured debris believed to be from the aircraft.

They were found at sea around half a mile off the eastern coast of Yakushima.

The cause of the crash and the status of the other people on the aircraft were not immediately known.

A Japan Coast Guard vessel and a helicopter conduct search and rescue operation at the site where a U.S. military aircraft MV-22 Osprey crashed into the sea off Yakushima Island, Kagoshima prefecture 
Pic:Kyodo /Reuters
Image:
The Japanese coastguard conduct a search and rescue operation. Pic: Kyodo/Reuters

Fishing boats in the area found three people in the surrounding waters, a representative of a local fisheries cooperative said. Their condition is unknown.

Another Osprey landed safely at the island’s airport on Wednesday, at around the time of the crash.

“The government will confirm information about the damage and place the highest priority on saving lives,” Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters.

The Osprey is a hybrid aircraft that takes off and lands like a helicopter, but during flight can rotate its propellers forward and cruise much faster like an aeroplane.

A US CV-22 Osprey takes off from Iwakuni base, western Japan, on 4 July, 2018. Pic: AP
Image:
A US Osprey aircraft taking off in Japan in 2018. Pic: AP

US and Japanese officials said the aircraft belonged to Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo.

In Okinawa, where about half of the 50,000 American troops in Japan are based, Governor Denny Tamaki told reporters he will ask the US military to suspend all Osprey flights in Japan.

In August, a US Osprey crashed off the coast of northern Australia, killing three Marines and seriously injuring five others.

Another crash-landed in the ocean off Japan’s southern island of Okinawa in December 2016, prompting a temporary US military grounding of the aircraft.

It also comes after five US service members were killed after their aircraft suffered a “mishap” during a routine air refuelling mission in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Continue Reading

US

Elon Musk accused of promoting ‘Pizzagate’ conspiracy theory

Published

on

By

Elon Musk accused of promoting 'Pizzagate' conspiracy theory

Elon Musk has been accused of promoting a long-debunked conspiracy theory which alleged high-profile Democrats ran a paedophile abuse ring from a Washington pizza restaurant.

The billionaire posted and later deleted a meme referencing “Pizzagate” on X on Tuesday, NBC News reports.

It was an image from TV show The Office, with fake dialogue superimposed on to the scene to make it look like the characters were arguing about whether the conspiracy was real.

“Does seem at least a little suspicious,” Musk wrote.

His post was seen by NBC News – Sky’s US partner network – before it was taken down.

The conspiracy began during the 2016 US election to smear Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton, and led to a man entering the pizza restaurant in question with an assault rifle.

It has previously been promoted by the likes of Alex Jones and former staff of Donald Trump.

NBC News reports Musk has replied to X posts about Pizzagate at least four times since 20 November.

They feature unfounded insinuations that journalists were involved.

No evidence has ever been uncovered that a child trafficking ring was being run from the pizzeria, or that Democrat politicians were involved and journalists covered it up.

Musk is a regular critic of the media and purveyor of conspiracies, including that aliens built the pyramids.

Last year, shortly after buying the platform formerly known as Twitter, he posted a link to an article featuring an unfounded rumour about an attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband.

More recently, he has been accused of endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory. It led to major advertisers pulling promotions from X and criticism from Israeli politicians.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Musk shown Hamas attack scene by PM

The SpaceX owner has since visited the country to be shown the scene of Hamas’s attack on 7 October.

He has also sued a media watchdog group which alleged adverts from the likes of Disney and Warner Bros were appearing next to neo-Nazi and white nationalist content on his platform.

Sky News has contacted X for comment.

Continue Reading

Trending