Joe Biden paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II ahead of her state funeral on Monday morning.
The US president and the First Lady, Jill, visited Westminster Hall on Sunday to pay their respects to the late British monarch during her lying-in-state.
The 79-year-old said it was an honour to meet the Queen, who he said reminded him of his mother.
Today Jill and I signed the Official Condolence Book for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
We first met the Queen in 1982, and will always remember her kindness and hospitality. Her legacy will loom large in the pages of British history, and in the story of our world. pic.twitter.com/6aZzUAMDAU
— President Biden (@POTUS) September 18, 2022
Speaking at Lancaster House, Biden said: “To all the people of England, all the people of the United Kingdom, our hearts go out to you. You were fortunate to have had her for 70 years, we all were. The world is better for her.”
“I have talked about how my mother and father thought that everyone, no matter who they were, no matter what their station, no matter where they are from, deserved to be treated with dignity.”
“And that’s exactly what she communicated – just the way she walked by her staff, just the way she acted. I think what she gave was a sense of, above all, the notion of service – we all owe something.”
“There is something in our capacity to do that can make not just the world better, but your neighbourhood better, your household better, your workplace better, and that’s what she communicated to me and it was an honour to meet her.”
'To all the people of the United Kingdom our hearts go out to you.'
US President Joe Biden says we were "fortunate" to have Queen Elizabeth for 70 years and the "world is better for her".
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— Sky News (@SkyNews) September 18, 2022
The US president added that the Queen was “the same in person as her image – decent, honourable and all about service”.
“Our hearts go out to the royal family, King Charles and all of the family. It’s a loss that leaves a giant hole and sometimes you think you’ll never overcome it,” he said.
Biden also recalled when Her Majesty had him and the First Lady over for tea and “crimpets”, which “she kept offering me more and I kept eating everything she put in front of me”.
Find out more about the Queen’s funeral here.
