Dr. Jill Biden spilled the tea on her visit with Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle just one year before her death.
The First Lady of the United States and President Joe Biden sat down to have private tea with the British Monarch during their 2021 stateside visit and it would become the last time they would meet before the Queen passed away at Balmoral Castle on Sept. 8, 2022, at age 96.
In Robert Hardman’s new book “The Making of a King: King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy,” the royal biographer spoke with FLOTUS and recounted the historical visit as detailed in an exclusive excerpt obtained by People.
“For the Bidens, a cherished memory would always be tea with the Queen at Windsor Castle in the year before her death,” Hardman, 59, wrote in the book.
Dr. Biden recalled how POTUS tried to help the Queen during the engagement, but the royal, who was always the pillar of proper etiquette, refused.
”We went up to her apartment. And I loved her sense of independence,” Dr. Biden, 72, recalled. “She had a big teapot. And Joe said to her: ‘Here, let me help you.’ The Queen had been quite insistent, however. ‘No, no, no. You sit,’ she told the president. ‘I will serve you.’”
Once tea was served, the trio had no shortage of things to talk about.
“Here she was with this big teapot pouring tea and we had the best time because she has such a sense of curiosity,” Dr. Biden explained in the book. “She asked all about American politics and what was going on and [the president’s] perceptions of different people and different events.”
It was, according to Dr. Biden, “every American’s ‘picture’ of a quintessential British tea party, especially when ‘her little dogs came in.’”
When it was time for the beloved and longest-reigning UK monarch to be laid to rest, the Bidens knew they had to attend and made plans to travel to England as soon as the Queen’s death had been announced.
“Joe and I just decided to attend,” said Dr Jill Biden. “We all grew up with the Queen. She was such a big part of our lives. She was just always there and felt like she always would be – a really beautiful, spectacular, amazing woman.”
In addition to the Bidens, 2,000 guests attended the Queen’s funeral service at Westminster Abbey, including representatives from 168 countries, 55 presidents and 25 prime ministers.
The Making of a King: King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy is set to be released on January 18, 2024.