Joe Biden has reportedly turned down an invitation to King Charles’ Coronation next month.
According to sources, the US president is expected to send a delegation to the event in a bid to avoid the perception of a snub.
Not much is known about which high-profile representative will be selected to attend, however it is thought that First Lady Jill Biden may go in her husband’s place.
Invitees to the ceremony, which will take place on May 6, have already been sent “save the date” emails from Buckingham Palace, with a request to RSVP to the palace by Monday.
Heads of state from around the world will be in attendance, including all three presidents of the EU, Ursula von der Leyen, Roberta Metsola and Charles Michel.
The newly elected First Minister of Scotland, Humza Yousaf, will also be in attendance.
However, the staunch republican is also planning to speak at a pro-independence rally in Glasgow on the same day.
The British ambassador to the US, Dame Karen Pierce, and Buckingham Palace aides are understood to have been told by the White House that Mr Biden already has other commitments, reports the Telegraph.
They also said that Mr Biden is intending to send a delegation, and that he may meet the King during his visit to Northern Ireland on April 11 instead.
Despite this, there has been no formal response, with sources believing that there “may still be some efforts under way to see if Biden can be persuaded to come to the Coronation”, as one senior US official has indicated no final decision has been made.
The relationship between Mr Biden and the King has reported to be “strong”, according to sources close to the US president.
However, Conservative MP and member of the foreign affairs select committee, Bob Seely, said the White House had made a “foolish decision”.
He said: “It seems pretty remiss, and I’m tempted to say more fool him for not coming.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime event, and you would have thought he should come because he’s a head of state. It just seems to be a foolish decision.”
Chairman of the defence select committee disagreed, stating: “Whilst we’d hope Joe Biden would be invited, there is no historical protocol for a US president to attend royal coronations, so we should not read too much into any absence. America will be represented, and it will be telling who the president chooses to send.”
