President Biden is set to meet with King Charles III at Windsor Castle in London next week, the White House announced Sunday.
Biden is scheduled to travel to the United Kingdom on July 9. Along with King Charles, he is also expected to meet with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The meeting, set for July 10, will be the first between Biden and Charles since the king was coronated in May. Biden did speak by phone with Charles on April 4 to congratulate him on his upcoming coronation and to underscore the strength of the relationship between the U.S. and Great Britain.
Biden met with Sunak at the White House less than a month ago, during which the two leaders discussed such pressing topics as the war in Ukraine, China, economic security, and international cooperation on regulating the growing field of artificial intelligence.
Following his stop in England, Biden will travel on to Vilnius, Lithuania for the July 11-12 NATO Summit. He’ll then go to Helsinki, Finland for a U.S.-Nordic Leaders Summit on the 13th.
NATO’s summit is happening as the alliance’s leaders are under pressure to name a new Secretary-General to replace outgoing alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg—though the Norwegian is expected to be asked to stay on for another year rather than stepping down in September.
At the White House last month Sunak reportedly urged Biden to support UK Defense Minister Ben Wallace as successor to Stoltenberg.
Wallace is not the only one in the running, however. For example, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, whom Biden also hosted at the White House in June, is widely viewed as a potential contender to replace Stoltenberg at NATO.
When a British reporter asked Biden at his joint White House press conference with Sunak if it was time for a British NATO Secretary General, Biden responded, “Maybe. That remains to be seen.”
