President Joe Biden today offered America’s “deepest condolences to the Royal Family” on the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. The 14th US President of the UK monarch’s 70-year reign, Biden said that Elizabeth was “a stateswoman of unmatched dignity and constancy who deepened the bedrock Alliance between the United Kingdom and the United States.”
The passing of the 96-year old Queen caused Biden to cancel a schedule speech on the Covid pandemic from the White House. Earlier today, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre learned of the Queen’s death while giving her regular briefing to the press. “Our hearts and our thoughts go to the family members of the queen, goes (sic) to the people of the United Kingdom,” said Jean-Pierre from the White House podium.
As “a mark of respect,” President Biden also ordered that the stars and stripes flag be lowered to half mast on “the day of internment.”
At a fundraiser this evening, Biden again paid tribute. “I had the opportunity to meet her before she passed and she was an incredibly decent and gracious woman,” he said. “And the thoughts and prayers of the American people are with the people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth in their grief.” He told the Daily Mail’s Nikki Schwab that he probably would attend the Queen’s funeral.
Shortly after the Queen’s death was announced, media began to gather outside the British Embassy in Washington, where the Union Jack was lowered to half mast and staffers were dressed in black. Mourners began to leave flowers outside the complex alongside a garden rock rendering of the flag. Some passengers in cars passing by shouted their own tributes, including one who said, “We love the Queen.”
“She’s just been a part of the country for so long, really showing British values around the world,” said Evie Steele, a Georgetown student who was born in Britain, after she and a friend laid a bouquet down at the site. “The monarch has gone through a lot, but always seemed to be above politics and above chaos. It is a sad occasion for Britain, and it just felt like now that I am here in D.C., I should bring something to pay respect.”
Her friend, Simone Guite, said that that the length of her reign was “just so hard to comprehend,” given that it spanned for 70 years — or about 30% of the time that the United States has been in existence.
Biden and First Lady Jill Biden later visited the embassy to sign a condolence book to pay tribute to the Queen. Members of the public will be able to visit and sign the book starting on Friday at 9 AM ET.
The Queen met with every U.S. President from Harry S. Truman to Biden, with the exception of Lyndon Johnson. Though Biden, as he said today, first met Elizabeth in 1982 when he was a Senator, the President and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden visited her as head of state last year at Windsor Castle during the G7 summit. It is likely that President Biden will attend the Queen’s funeral later this month in London.
The Queen’s last visit to the United States came in 2010, when she addressed the United Nations. She made multiple visits to the states during her reign. Some of the most memorable included a July, 1976, visit to mark the Bicentennial, dancing with President Gerald Ford at a state dinner; and a March, 1983 visit that included stops in California where, amid torrential rains, visited President Ronald Reagan at his mountaintop ranch near Santa Barbara.
Former Presidents Barack Obama, Donald Trump, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and 97-year old Jimmy Carter have all also issued statements on Queen Elizabeth’s passing.
Ted Johnson contributed to this report.
Read President Biden’s full statement on the death of Elizabeth II here: