U.S. President Joe Biden congratulated King Charles in a tweet on the day of his coronation.
“Congratulations to King Charles III and Queen Camilla on their Coronation,” he wrote Saturday. “The enduring friendship between the U.S. and the U.K. is a source of strength for both our peoples. I am proud the First Lady is representing the United States for this historic occasion.”
While Biden did not attend the crowning of King Charles III on Saturday, part of a three-day extravaganza in London, he dispatched his wife and granddaughter, Finnegan Biden, to represent the United States.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre previously said the president’s absence was not intended to insult the new King. “It’s not a snub,” she said.
No American president has ever attended a British coronation. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was invited to the last crowning of a British sovereign — in 1953 when Queen Elizabeth II formally took the throne — but sent a delegation of American luminaries instead. Jill Biden at the time would have been just 2 years old.
“Headed to the U.K. for the Coronation of King Charles III — the first in 70 years!” Jill Biden wrote in an Instagram post, alongside a photo of herself waving as she boards a plane.
“It’s an honor to represent the United States for this historic moment and celebrate the special relationship between our countries,” she added.
After she arrived, the First Lady snapped a photo with Kate, Princess of Wales, and Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska during a special reception for heads of state at Buckingham Palace. She also spent part of Friday at No. 10 Downing St., the prime minister’s official residence, with Akshata Murty, the wife of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.