• More than 2,000 personalities are expected this Saturday in London for the coronation of Charles III.
  • But one distinguished guest will be missing: US President Joe Biden.

Emmanuel Macron, Justin Trudeau, Prince Albert, the Beckhams... More than 2,000 leaders and celebrities will attend the coronation of King Charles III on Saturday. But there will be a notable absentee at Westminster Abbey: Joe Biden. The US president said last month that he would send a delegation led by his wife, Jill Biden, to represent the United States. While some British newspapers – and Donald Trump – accuse Biden of "snubbing" King Charles, his absence is actually part of a long tradition: an American president has never witnessed a coronation of a British monarch.

"American presidents often avoid royal ceremonies of any kind," Arianne Chernock, a history professor at Boston University, said in an editorial. Joe Biden had certainly attended the funeral of Elizabeth II, but it was "the exception, not the rule," according to the researcher.

Long tradition

Nearly 250 years after the American Revolution against the "tyranny" of King George III, the two countries today have a "special relationship" forged by the fight against Nazism in World War II. But at the coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953, Eisenhower sent an official delegation consisting of two generals, George Marshall and Omar Bradley, California Governor Earl Warren, and a very fashionable woman, the editor of Flair magazine, Fleur Cowles. A strong symbol to "recognize equality" between the sexes, Eisenhower later explained.



This time, the White House took the lead in early April to avoid the affront of rejecting an invitation: during a phone call between Charles III and Joe Biden, the latter congratulated him and told him that Jill Biden would lead the American delegation. Charles invited Biden for a future state visit, which the US president accepted.

"They had a very friendly conversation. They have a good relationship, they share the same values and the same priorities, such as the fight against climate change," said presidential spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre.

Political controversy

In a tense political context, with the 2024 presidential campaign already underway, Biden's decision has obviously made waves in Washington. Donald Trump said he was "very surprised" by a "disrespectful" absence, assuring that he would have moved if he had been the president.

"I believe he can't physically do it, I think it's hard for him to do it physically," insisted Trump, who regularly attacks Biden on his age. At 80, Joe Biden has multiplied transatlantic trips in recent months, with a long trip to Ukraine in February, then Northern Ireland and Ireland in mid-April.

Across the Channel, several tabloids accused "Biden the Irishman" of "snubbing" the coronation, and Conservative MP Bob Seely denounced a "foolish decision". But if Joe Biden regularly highlights his mother's Irish roots, he recently conceded it: his last name is of English origin. Come on, perhaps the ultimate American-British rapprochement will take place next time, for the coronation of King William V.

  • World
  • King Charles III
  • Joe Biden
  • United Kingdom
  • USA
  • England