Joe Biden will not be attending the Coronation of King Charles III in May, despite being invited, choosing to send his wife Jill instead.
According to the White House, Biden called the King on Tuesday to inform him of his rejection of the invitation to the ceremony on May 6, claiming that he had previous commitments that would clash.
“The President congratulated the King on his upcoming Coronation and informed him that First Lady Jill Biden looks forward to attending on behalf of the United States,” the White House said in a statement. “The President also conveyed his desire to meet with the King in the United Kingdom at a future date.”
However, reception to the news from Brits was less than positive. Bob Seely, a Conservative MP who sits on the foreign affairs select committee in Parliament, called the decision “foolish,” urging Biden to reconsider.
White House / Flickr
“It seems pretty remiss, and I’m tempted to say more fool him for not coming,” he said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime event, and you would have thought he should come because he’s a head of state,” he added.
“Biden planning to snub the coronation of King Charles III tells you everything you need to know about how one of the worst presidents in modern history feels about the United Kingdom,” tweeted GB News presenter Dan Wootton. “Shame on him.”
Biden planning to snub the coronation of King Charles III tells you everything you need to know about how one of the worst presidents in modern history feels about the United Kingdom.
Shame on him.— Dan Wootton (@danwootton) March 31, 2023
Biden turns down coronation invite. Quite unbelievable considering how many state events presidents have attended in the past. https://t.co/dcnYkB0BXw
— Ben Briscoe (@BenWBriscoe) March 31, 2023
However, some left-wing activists online have defended Biden’s refusal to attend, noting that no sitting President has ever attended a coronation, with neither of the four 20th Century coronations being attended by Presidents Eisenhower, Franklin Roosevelt, Taft, or Theodore Roosevelt, or any 19th Century coronations.
Joe Biden will not become the first President of the US Republic to attend a Royal Coronation, joining Eisenhower (1953), FDR (1937), Taft (1911) and Theodore Roosevelt (1902) in not attending the four 20th century Coronations, and Monroe, Andrew Jackson and Van Buren before that https://t.co/fZTlefR7UK
— Sunder Katwala (@sundersays) March 31, 2023
The Coronation of King Charles III is set to be the first coronation since the advent of modern air travel, with passenger jets that would be capable of making a quick trip across the Atlantic only being common in 1955. Eisenhower was the first president to travel in a jet across to Europe in 1959, 6 years after the Coronation of Elizabeth II.
In addition, the first time a president ever went out of the country on a visit for any reason while in office was Theodore Roosevelt, who inspected the Panama Canal in 1906. The vaunted “special relationship” between the United Kingdom and United States also only developed after World War II.
The Coronation of King Charles III marks another break from tradition, as foreign monarchs are being invited for the first time.
No crowned monarch of another country has ever attended a royal coronation before, previously only sending representatives, making Biden’s decision to not attend more impactful at the first coronation where more heads of state will be present.
