US President Biden, first lady sign condolence book at British Embassy after Queen Elizabeth's demise
Sep 09, 2022
Washington [UK], September 9 : US President Joe Biden with First Lady Jill Biden on Friday visited the British Embassy in Washington to sign a condolence book after the death of British Queen Elizabeth II.
Upon reaching the Embassy, Biden and the First Lady were greeted by the British ambassador and her husband, as per a tweet by the British Embassy in Washington.
He walked over to the condolence book and asked if he could write a message, taking a card with notes out of his jacket's pocket. The ambassador said, "if you would like to Sir."
Biden wrote for a few minutes, while the First Lady watched over and the ambassador stood to the side, behind him.
The First Lady then sat down in the chair and appeared to sign her name.
"We mourn for all of you. She was a great lady, I'm so delighted I got to meet her," Biden said and he walked over to embassy staff.
"Our hearts are with you," the First Lady said. Biden thanked the staff and said, "As my mother would say, God, loves you." He then walked out of the room, holding hands with the First Lady.
The longest-serving monarch of the UK, Queen Elizabeth II took her last breath at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on Thursday at the age of 96.
Buckingham Palace issued a statement announcing the demise of the Queen on September 8. The statement referred to the Queen's eldest son, Prince of Wales, Charles as the new King ascending over the queen who reigned for 70 years and 7 months.
Condolences poured in from around the world. Leaders and politicians took to Twitter to mourn the death of the British Queen.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences over the demise of Queen Elizabeth II, noting her authority in the international arena, as well as her love and respect for her subjects, the Kremlin press office, said Thursday.
"The most important events of the newest history of the United Kingdom are inseparably connected to Her Majesty's name. For many decades, Elizabeth II rightly enjoyed the love and respect of her subjects, as well as authority on the international arena," Putin said in his condolences to King Charles III.
Putin wished Charles III "courage and fortitude before the face of this great and irreplaceable loss."
"Please relay my honest condolences and words of support to the members of the Royal Family and all people of the United Kingdom," Putin said in an official statement on Telegram.
Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson called it the country's saddest day.
"In the hearts of every one of us there is an ache at the passing of our Queen, a deep and personal sense of loss - far more intense, perhaps, than we expected," he said.
"In these first grim moments since the news, I know that millions and millions of people have been pausing whatever they have been doing, to think about Queen Elizabeth, about the bright and shining light that has finally gone out. She seemed so timeless and so wonderful that I am afraid we had come to believe, like children, that she would just go on and on," Boris Johnson wrote.
"We think of her deep wisdom, and historic understanding, and her seemingly inexhaustible but understated sense of duty, Relentless though her diary must have felt, she never once let it show, and to tens of thousands of events - great and small - she brought her smile and her warmth and her gentle humour and for an unrivalled 70 years she spread that magic around her Kingdom," he wrote.
"This is our country's saddest day because she had a unique and simple power to make us happy. That is why we loved her. That is why we grieve for Elizabeth the Great, the longest serving and in many ways the finest monarch in our history," former PM added.
After the demise of Queen Elizabeth II, her eldest son Charles, who took the regnal name of Charles III, has become the new monarch. 10-day mourning was declared over the death of Elizabeth II, who was a formal head of state in 15 countries.