Tea and crumpets: Biden, Jill Biden remember the queen

Sep 18, 2022, 11:14 AM | Updated: Sep 20, 2022, 5:29 am
President Joe Biden signs a book of condolence at Lancaster House in London, following the death of...

President Joe Biden signs a book of condolence at Lancaster House in London, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, as first lady Jill Biden looks on. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

LONDON (AP) — For U.S. President Joe Biden, it was the crumpets. For his wife, first lady Jill Biden, it was the tea.

Joe and Jill Biden on Sunday helped honor Queen Elizabeth II by sharing memories of their tea time last year when she invited them to join her at Windsor Castle, near London.

The president, who said after that 2021 visit that Elizabeth reminded him of his late mother, recalled Sunday that she kept offering him crumpets. He did not refuse.

“I kept eating everything she put in front of me,” he said. “But she was the same in person as … her image: decent, honorable, and all about service.”

The queen, who was Britain’s longest-serving monarch, died earlier this month after a 70-year reign. Biden is among hundreds of heads of state and other dignitaries who are in London to attend her state funeral service Monday at Westminster Abbey.

The first lady told The Associated Press in a telephone interview after she and the president attended a reception at Buckingham Palace that “what really impressed me” about the queen was “just how warm and gracious she was.”

“I loved her sense of curiosity. She wanted to know all about American politics and so she asked Joe question after question,” Jill Biden said. She said sitting in Elizabeth’s living room was “almost like being, you know, with your 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,'” Jill Biden said. “And it was just a very special moment with a very special woman.”

The Bidens paid their respects to the queen on Sunday by traveling to Westminster Hall, where she has been lying in state, to stand before the monarch’s coffin in the presence of thousands of mourners who had spent hours upon hours waiting to file past.

They then signed condolence books at Lancaster House before going to Buckingham Palace for a reception hosted by King Charles III and other royal family members for the world leaders who flew in for the funeral.

After signing the book, Biden said his his heart goes out to the royal family because the queen’s death has left it with a “giant hole.”

“Sometimes you think you’ll never, you’ll never overcome it,” said Biden, who often speaks in very personal terms about loss following the death of his first wife and infant daughter, and later an adult son. “But as I’ve told the king, she’s going to be with him every step of the way — every minute, every moment. And that’s a reassuring notion.”

While viewing the coffin on Sunday, the first lady said, she watched a little boy dressed in a Boy Scout uniform come in and give the queen a three-finger salute.

“I mean, it just gave me a lump in my throat,” she said, and showed “how much the people really loved their queen, no matter their ages.”

President Biden wrote in the condolence book that the queen “was admired around the world for her unwavering commitment to service.”

The first lady signed a separate condolence book for spouses and ambassadors, writing “Queen Elizabeth lived her life for the people. She served with wisdom and grace. We will never forget her warmth, kindness and the conversations we shared.”

In the interview, Jill Biden cautioned that there’s a “human piece” to the queen’s death.

Speaking of Charles, she said: “He is the king, but no one should forget, he lost his mother and, you know, Prince William lost a grandmother. Sometimes we tend to forget the really human piece of this and the sorrow that they … have to bear and how they have to grieve in public. But they seem to be doing OK,” she said.

More than 2,000 people were expected at Westminster Abbey for Monday’s funeral.

___

Follow AP coverage of Queen Elizabeth II at https://apnews.com/hub/queen-elizabeth-ii

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


              US President Joe Biden accompanied by the First Lady Jill Biden arrive at Buckingham Palace in London, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. King Charles III is holding a reception at Buckingham Palace for heads of state and other leaders on Sunday evening ahead of the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on Monday. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, Pool)
            
              US President Joe Biden accompanied by First Lady Jill Biden are welcomed by Master of the Household Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt at Buckingham Palace in London, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. King Charles III is holding a reception at Buckingham Palace for heads of state and other leaders on Sunday evening ahead of the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on Monday. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, Pool)
            
              US President Joe Biden accompanied by the First Lady Jill Biden arrive at Buckingham Palace in London, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. King Charles III is holding a reception at Buckingham Palace for heads of state and other leaders on Sunday evening ahead of the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on Monday. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, Pool)
            
              President Joe Biden signs a book of condolence at Lancaster House in London, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, as first lady Jill Biden looks on, left, and T.H. Jane Hartley, Ambassador of the United States to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, looks on far right. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
            
              President Joe Biden signs a book of condolence at Lancaster House in London, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, as first lady Jill Biden looks on. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

AP

FILE - Former President Donald Trump speaks with reporters while in flight on his plane after a cam...
Associated Press

Worries grow that Trump indictment could undermine public confidence in other investigations

Trump’s attempts to overturn those results amid false claims of widespread fraud are at the heart of two other ongoing investigations.
18 hours ago
(Facebook Photo/Superior Court of Arizona in Yavapai County)...
Associated Press

Arizona judge has cases reassigned following DUI arrest

The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled that all cases currently assigned to a Yavapai County Superior Court judge recently arrested on suspicion of extreme DUI will be reassigned to other judges.
5 days ago
Haitian migrant Gerson Solay, 28, carries his daughter, Bianca, as he and his family cross into Can...
Associated Press

US, Canada to end loophole that allows asylum-seekers to move between countries

President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced a plan to close a loophole to an immigration agreement.
8 days ago
Expert skateboarder Di'Orr Greenwood, an artist born and raised in the Navajo Nation in Arizona and...
Associated Press

Indigenous skateboard art featured on new stamps unveiled at Phoenix skate park

The Postal Service unveiled the “Art of the Skateboard" stamps at a Phoenix skate park, featuring designs from Indigenous artists.
8 days ago
(Facebook Photo/City of San Luis, Arizona)...
Associated Press

San Luis authorities receive complaints about 911 calls going across border

Authorities in San Luis say they are receiving more complaints about 911 calls mistakenly going across the border.
14 days ago
(Pexels Photo)...
Associated Press

Daylight saving time begins in most of US this weekend

No time change is observed in Hawaii, most of Arizona, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Marianas.
22 days ago

Sponsored Articles

...
Day & Night Air Conditioning, Heating and Plumbing

Company looking for oldest air conditioner and wants to reward homeowner with new one

Does your air conditioner make weird noises or a burning smell when it starts? If so, you may be due for an AC unit replacement.
...
Fiesta Bowl Foundation

Celebrate 50 years of Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Parade magic!

Since its first production in the early 1970s, the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Parade presented by Lerner & Rowe has been a staple of Valley traditions, bringing family fun and excitement to downtown Phoenix.
...
Quantum Fiber

How high-speed fiber internet edges out cable for everyday use

In a world where technology drives so much of our daily lives, a lack of high-speed internet can be a major issue.
Tea and crumpets: Biden, Jill Biden remember the queen