A new photo of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla was released Tuesday, one month before the coronation at Westminster Abbey. First lady Jill Biden will attend the ceremony, after President Joe Biden informed the British monarch he would not be there. Photo courtesy of Hugo Burnand/Buckingham Palace
April 4 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden will not attend King Charles III's upcoming coronation but has informed the British monarch that the United States will be represented by first lady Jill Biden.
Biden congratulated Charles Tuesday in a phone call and conveyed "his desire to meet with the King in the United Kingdom at a future date," according to the White House, which said the call underscored "the strength of the relationship between our countries and the friendship between our peoples."
King Charles' coronation will be held at London's Westminster Abbey on May 6, following Queen Elizabeth II's death in September. President Biden and the first lady attended the queen's funeral.
Next month's coronation is the first in Britain since Queen Elizabeth II's ceremony in 1953, which then-President Dwight Eisenhower did not attend. Elizabeth was Britain's longest-serving monarch when she died last year at the age of 96.
On Tuesday, Buckingham Palace tweeted a new photograph of the king and queen consort along with an image of the coronation invitation, which was sent to more than 2,000 guests and designated Charles' wife as "Queen Camilla" for the first time.
The coronation ceremony, which will be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, will conclude with a procession of King Charles and Queen Camilla, along with other members of the royal family, through London to Buckingham Palace.
The coronation celebration will last three days with a concert at Windsor Castle and street parties for the Coronation Big Lunch to be held on May 7. The following day, which is a Monday, is designated a bank holiday called The Big Help Out, during which Britons are encouraged to volunteer in their communities.
