President Obama In UK On Three-Day Visit
KABUL: (MEP) President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle have arrived in the United Kingdom on Friday for a celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday where he as US president had lunch with the Queen.
Mr Obama, who is on a three-day visit, also met with Prime Minister David Cameron ahead of a dinner at Kensington Palace with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.
The leaders are holding talks on the fight against so-called Islamic State (IS) terrorists and will later be joined by the UK’s home, foreign and defence secretaries, and the chancellor.
Mr Cameron and Mr Obama are also to discuss the progress being made in combating so-called Islamic State in Iraq, and what more can be done to tackle the group in Syria.
Obama was kicking off a day of royal events that included a bedtime greeting for the young Prince George, third in line to the throne.
The foursome piled into a Range Rover, which Philip drove himself the short distance from the Windsor lawn to the Sovereign’s Entrance in the castle’s Quadrangle. Obama — ordinarily ensconced in the back seat of a heavily armored limousine — sat up front.
With her bonnet removed, the Queen emerged from the backseat of the vehicle and led the first couple into her main residence. Soon the group was seen strolling along a palace hallway, the Queen introducing the President to her ladies-in-waiting and personal secretary.
As they stepped into the white-paneled Oak Room for a photo op, the queen noted the room was “full of mirrors,” complicating staged photos.
“Where do you want me?” Obama inquired.
“Just here, don’t you think?” the Queen said, gesturing toward a spot in front of a roaring fire between a pair of sofas. “Back to the mirror.”
A moment passed before a voice called, “Thank you, your Majesty.”
Later the Obamas brought the Queen a photo album of her many visits with US presidents and first ladies.
The album begins with her visit to the United States in 1951.
