LONDON, UNITED KINDGOM — President Joe Biden lived up to his name, the self-professed moniker, “gaffe machine”, when he blundered again on Monday (10 Jul), during his meeting with King Charles III, repeating the same mistake his predecessor, Donald Trump had made when he met Queen Elizabeth II in 2018.
After skipping King Charles III’s coronation ceremony last May, President Biden visited Britain to meet with the monarch and British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak ahead of the NATO meeting in Lithuania this week.
Biden managed to raise a few eyebrows when he was seen walking ahead of the monarch during his arrival at Windsor Castle, similar to the mistake that Trump had made with the late queen, when he had cut off her path and stepped in front of her, which is against royal protocol since people are not supposed to turn their backs on the head of the monarchy.
Biden was also photographed unconventionally patting The King’s back, which had also set people’s tongue wagging, stating that the act was another breach of protocol and against the etiquette of the royal family.
Observers noticed that King Charles had appeared visibly agitated during the inspection of the Welsh Guards when Biden decided to initiate a conversation with one of the guards at the end of the line, and despite The King’s insistence, Biden continued speaking to the guard.
Joe Biden is so utterly confused mid senior-moment at Windsor Castle— King Charles has to physically man-handle him to walk him on-stage @JoeBiden #UK #US #KingCharles #JoeBiden #visit #worldnews #top #viral #trending pic.twitter.com/9ay0SFbMgc
— The World Reviews (@tworldreviews) July 11, 2023
The King could be seen trying to lead the US president away from the guard and Biden, who seemed to be experiencing a moment of confusion, looking back and forth at the king and guard before finally deciding to move along and follow the king towards the dais to watch the military march past.
This is not the first time that Biden has met King Charles, having met the king during the G7 Leaders Summit in Cornwall when the king was still the Prince of Wales, nor it is the first time he has been criticised over his behaviour towards the royal family.
In 2021, Biden caused a stir among critics for keeping his sunglasses on throughout the first half of his meeting with Queen Elizabeth.
Following the meeting, a Buckingham Palace source reported that The King did not mind the president’s misstep and was entirely comfortable with Biden touching him.
According to the royal family’s website, “His Majesty and President Biden had tea together before His Majesty invited the President to view and exhibition of items from the Royal Collection relating to the United States of America.”
Afterwards, The King and the President proceeded to the Green Drawing Room where the participants of the Climate Finance Mobilisation Forum, which had taken place earlier, were waiting to give a brief on the conclusions of the discussions,
Last month, Biden left many befuddled when he ended a gun control speech in Connecticut with an unexpected sign-off, when he suddenly uttered, “Alright? God save the Queen, man”.
