Jill Biden will meet with Kate Middleton in England this week
First lady Jill Biden will meet with Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, this week while she is in England, Kensington Palace told CNN on Thursday, as the first family makes their first international trip.
Biden and Middleton will focus on children and education during their first-ever meeting on Friday, a White House official told CNN. The two women will participate in a roundtable about early childhood education and tour a school in Cornwall.
Middleton, with her husband the Duke of Cambridge, Prince William, has taken a larger public-facing role in recent years in the United Kingdom, championing causes including mental health, the overall well-being of children, the importance of sports and visual arts, as well as the importance of getting the Covid-19 vaccine. Middleton posted a photo of herself on her social media accounts receiving her first dose on May 29.
Biden has also taken several recent trips to various parts of the United States encouraging people to get vaccinated. The meeting in England between Biden and Middleton has been in the works for the last couple of weeks, a White House official tells CNN.
The first lady is accompanying President Joe Biden for his first Group of 7 summit, which is being held in Cornwall, England, from Friday to Sunday. The Bidens arrived in England on Wednesday. On Thursday, the President and first lady met with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie Johnson. Jill Biden and Carrie Johnson had a separate meeting over tea and a tour of St. Michael’s Mount off the coast of Cornwall.
In a statement to CNN, the East Wing notes in addition to acting in a supporting role to the President, Jill Biden’s first trip abroad as first lady includes several solo events, such as the one with Middleton.
“The First Lady has an independent schedule of her own during the G7,” said Jill Biden’s press secretary Michael LaRosa. “At Royal Air Force Base Mildenhall on Wednesday, she spoke about the importance of supporting military families. She also hosted a roundtable with United States military spouses who are focused on the wellbeing and emotional health of service members and their families.”
The events and discussion are working in concert with one of Biden’s initiatives, Joining Forces, which supports military families. With Middleton, Biden is expected to again highlight the military, as well as the alliance between America and the United Kingdom, says the White House official.
The President and first lady will also meet with Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle on Sunday.
It will be the Queen’s first major meeting with a world leader since the death of her husband, Prince Philip, in April, and comes after a year in which most of her in-person engagements were postponed or canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Jill Biden will return to the United States after meeting the Queen.
While Jill Biden has for several years been friends with Prince Harry, whom she met in 2012 while second lady, she has not met other senior members of the royal family.
This story has been updated.
