Confused’ Joe Biden ‘escorted’ across lawn by King Charles when…

As US president Joe Biden arrived in the UK on Sunday, he spent the night at the US embassy in London, closing out the day’s engagements by meeting with King Charles.

Joe Biden had skipped the monarch’s coronation ceremony in May. The meeting caused a stir as Joe Biden appeared to breach royal protocol by touching King Charles III during an arrival ceremony at Windsor Castle.

The monarch also seemed to lose his cool after one of the Welsh Guards at the castle apparently spent too much time engaging the US president in conversation. In videos widely shared on social media, the US president was seen placing his hand on the King’s back as they reviewed the assembled Welsh Guards on the Windsor quadrangle. The monarch reciprocating in a similar gesture a short time later.

But a video sparked reactions on social media in which King Charles was seen attempting to hurry Joe Biden along at one point as they reviewed the Guard of Honour.

As the US president engaged in conversation with one of the soldiers he was reviewing, he failed to heed the monarch’s polite suggestion to keep moving. The King appeared to snap and gesture at the guard after which the “confused” president moved along.

Did Joe Biden break royal protocol?

A Buckingham Palace source told People that Joe Biden did not breach protocol and said the monarch was “entirely comfortable” with the encounter.

“What a wonderful symbol of warmth and affection it was between both the individuals and their nations,” they said.

Have Joe Biden and King Charles met before?

King Charles and Joe Biden have met multiple times during their time in public life, with their two most recent meetings coming during the Cop26 summit in Glasgow and a Buckingham Palace reception in 2021. At both the meets, the leaders talked about climate change.