Jill Biden in UK for King Charles’ coronation, visits No. 10

Britain Coronation Preparations Akshata Murty wife of the British Prime Minister greets the US First Lady Jill Biden on the doorstep of 10 Downing Street in London, Friday, May 5, 2023. The First Lady is in London to attend the Coronation of King Charles III, on Saturday May, 6.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Britain Coronation Preparations Akshata Murty wife of the British Prime Minister greets Finnegan Biden the the granddaughter of US First Lady Jill Biden, on the doorstep of 10 Downing Street in London, Friday, May 5, 2023. The First Lady is in London to attend the Coronation of King Charles III, on Saturday May, 6.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Britain US Akshata Murty, wife of Britain's Prime Minster, left, and US First Lady Jill Biden arrive for a meeting inside 10 Downing Street in central London, Friday, May 5, 2023. (Oli Scarff/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain US Akshata Murty, wife of Britain's Prime Minster, left, and US First Lady Jill Biden arrive for a meeting inside 10 Downing Street in central London, Friday, May 5, 2023. (Oli Scarff/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain US Akshata Murty, wife of Britain's Prime Minster, second left, and US First Lady Jill Biden, right, meet with US ambassador to the UK Jane Hartley, lefr, and Britain's Conservative Party MP Johnny Mercer inside 10 Downing Street in central London, Friday, May 5, 2023. (Oli Scarff/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain US Akshata Murty, wife of Britain's Prime Minster, second right, and US First Lady Jill Biden, right, speak to Britain's Conservative Party MP Johnny Mercer inside 10 Downing Street in central London, Friday, May 5, 2023. (Oli Scarff/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain US US First Lady Jill Biden, center, hugs a member of a boxing charity next to Akshata Murty, wife of Britain's Prime Minster, right, inside 10 Downing Street in central London, Friday, May 5, 2023. (Oli Scarff/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain US US First Lady Jill Biden reacts as she meets pupils during a visit at the Charles Dickens Primary School in London, Friday May 5, 2023. (Oli Scarff/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain US US First Lady Jill Biden, center, and Akshata Murty, wife of Britain's Prime Minster, third left, her grand daughter Finnegan Biden, right, visit the Charles Dickens Primary School in London, Friday May 5, 2023. (Oli Scarff/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain US US First Lady Jill Biden reacts as she meets pupils during a visit at the Charles Dickens Primary School in London, Friday May 5, 2023. (Oli Scarff/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain US US First Lady Jill Biden reacts as she meets pupils during a visit at the Charles Dickens Primary School, in London, Friday May 5, 2023. (Oli Scarff/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain US US First Lady Jill Biden, left, and Akshata Murty, wife of Britain's Prime Minster listen to a music class during a visit at the Charles Dickens Primary School in London, Friday May 5, 2023. (Oli Scarff/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain Coronation Jill Biden FILE - Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, left, and first lady Jill Biden laugh during a visit to Connor Downs Academy in Hayle, West Cornwall, during the G7 summit in England, June 11, 2021. The first lady will be back in London for another royal engagement. President Joe Biden sent his wife to represent the United States at Saturday's coronation of King Charles III. (Aaron Chown/Pool photo via AP, File)
Britain Royal Preparations The First Lady of the United States, Jill Biden arrives at Buckingham Palace in London Friday May 5, 2023, for a reception hosted by Britain's King Charles III, for overseas guests attending his coronation. (Jacob King, Pool via AP)
Britain Coronation Jill Biden FILE - Jill Biden, left, and Britain's Prince Harry applaud the athletes after the final event, a wheelchair basketball game, at the Invictus Games, May 12, 2016, in Kissimmee, Fla. The first lady will be back in London for another royal engagement. President Joe Biden sent his wife to represent the United States at Saturday's coronation of King Charles III. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)
Britain Royal Preparations The First Lady of the United States, Jill Biden, right, and her grand daughter Finnegan Biden arrive at Buckingham Palace in London Friday May 5, 2023, for a reception hosted by Britain's King Charles III, for overseas guests attending his coronation. (Jacob King, Pool via AP)
Britain Coronation Jill Biden FILE - Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, center right, and first lady Jill Biden during a visit to Connor Downs Academy in Hayle, West Cornwall, during the G7 summit in England, June 11, 2021. The first lady will be back in London for another royal engagement. President Joe Biden sent his wife to represent the United States at Saturday's coronation of King Charles III.(Aaron Chown/Pool photo via AP, File)
Britain Royal Preparations The First Lady of the United States, Jill Biden and her grand daughter Finnegan Biden, left, arrive at Buckingham Palace in London Friday May 5, 2023, for a reception hosted by Britain's King Charles III, for overseas guests attending his coronation. (Jacob King, Pool via AP)
APTOPIX Britain Coronation Preparations US First Lady Jill Biden waves to the media as she arrives in Downing Street to meet Akshata Murty wife of the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in London, Friday, May 5, 2023. The First Lady is in London to attend the Coronation of King Charles III, on Saturday May, 6.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Jill Biden has celebrated the athletic grit of wounded service members with Prince Harry, discussed the value of early childhood education with Princess Kate and sipped tea poured by Queen Elizabeth II.

Now the first lady is back in London for another royal engagement. President Joe Biden has dispatched his wife to represent the United States at Saturday’s coronation of King Charles III, the late queen’s eldest son. No American president has ever attended a British coronation.

While in London, she’s engaging in a bit of soft diplomacy before the big event. Her first stop in Friday’s drizzle was a familiar place: No. 10 Downing St., for her first meeting with Akshata Murty, the wife of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Murty greeted Biden with an embrace and a kiss on each cheek. “Welcome, welcome!” she said, before turning to shake hands with Finnegan Biden, one of the first lady’s granddaughters.

Afterward, Jill Biden and Murty met at the Downing Street residence with military veterans and their families participating in a health and wellness program.

The sun had come out by the time the pair arrived at the cafeteria at Charles Dickens Primary School in the Borough area of London to meet with students who were wearing golden paper crowns as they participated in coronation-related activities. She told them to “have fun tomorrow.”

The first lady also visited the U.S. Embassy to greet staff before she ended her day at a reception the king hosted at Buckingham Palace.

On Saturday, Jill Biden will represent the United States at the coronation at Westminster Abbey, seated among several hundred heads of state, royals from other nations and other guests who were invited to watch Charles and his wife, Camilla, be crowned king and queen. Afterward, she will attend a reception hosted by U.S. Ambassador Jane Hartley.

Jill Biden will also mingle at a luncheon Sunday hosted by Sunak and Murty at their Downing Street residence before her flight back to Washington.

President Biden has received some criticism for skipping the coronation, though the White House cites the precedent of a U.S. president never attending for his decision.

But the president and Charles are hardly strangers. They have chatted each other up at global climate events since Biden took office, and during the queen’s funeral last year. They also spoke in April when Biden called to say he was sending the first lady to the coronation, and the president expressed interest in meeting with the king in the United Kingdom at a future date, the White House said at the time.

First ladies often stand in for presidents when they can’t be present.

“I love seeing the first lady as our representative and I would have been thrilled for any first lady to attend,” said Lindsay Reynolds, who was first lady Melania Trump’s White House chief of staff. “I don’t think it is a slight in any way for the president to not be attending.”

Jill Biden was just 2 years old when Charles’ mother, Elizabeth, was crowned in June 1953. The queen held the throne for seven decades until her death last September at age 96.

The first lady tweeted before her flight Thursday that “it’s an honor to represent the United States for this historic moment and celebrate the special relationship between our countries.”

Most modern-era first ladies, including Jill Biden, have engaged with members of the British royal family because the late queen had met every American president since Eisenhower, except for Lyndon Johnson.

Biden was the 13th and final U.S. leader to meet the queen. They saw each other when he visited England in 2021 with his wife to participate in a Group of Seven world leader summit. At the time, the queen also invited the Bidens to have tea with her at Windsor Castle.

Jill Biden told The Associated Press in a telephone interview after the queen’s death that sitting in her living room was like being with one’s grandmother.

“And she said, ‘Let me pour the tea,’ and we said, ‘No, no, let us help,’ and she said ‘Oh, no, no, no, I’ll get this. You sit down,’” the first lady said. “And it was just a very special moment with a very special woman.”

During that trip, she and Prince William’s wife, Kate, met for the first time at a preschool in southwest England where they participated in a roundtable discussion on the role of early childhood education in life outcomes. They also learned about caring for bunny rabbits.

The first lady also has met William’s brother, Prince Harry, several times through their work and support of military veterans. She has joined Harry for the Invictus Games, an athletic competition he founded for wounded or sick military veterans.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of first lady Jill Biden at https://apnews.com/hub/jill-biden.

Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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