US President Joe Biden is unlikely to attend the coronation of King Charles III, according to White House officials. The coronation ceremony will take place on May 6 at Westminster Abbey, and formal invitations will be sent out in April.
Although foreign governments have been notified of the intention to invite foreign monarchs and world leaders, it is unclear who will attend the event. A spokesperson for the British Embassy in Washington has told TIME that Buckingham Palace will release an update on who is confirmed to attend the coronation “in due course”.
s memoir, Promises to Keep, Biden recalled how his mother Catherine “Jean” Biden taught him that authority figures were no better than he was just because of their position. When he met Queen Elizabeth for the first time in 1982, she told him not to bow down to her. This sentiment may play a role in Biden’s decision not to attend the coronation ceremony.
Biden’s absence would not be the first by a US president; President Dwight Eisenhower did not attend the coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1953. Buckingham Palace is reportedly struggling to secure A-list British entertainers for the ceremony.