President Joe Biden offered his condolences after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, remembering Britain’s longest-reigning monarch as an era-defining stateswoman who deepened ties between the United States and Britain.
“Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was more than a monarch,” Biden said in a statement Thursday. “She defined an era.”
QUEEN ELIZABETH II DEAD: LONGEST-REIGNING MONARCH OF THE UK DIES AT 96
Calling the queen “a stateswoman of unmatched dignity and constancy,” the president praised her grace, “unwavering commitment to duty,” and the friendship and respect she showed newly independent nations.
“She elevated the cause of liberty and fostered enduring bonds,” he said of her work across the Commonwealth.
Biden said it was Elizabeth, through her “dignity and constancy,” who deepened the ties between the United States and the United Kingdom.
“She helped make our relationship special,” he said.
News of her death broke during the White House press briefing on Thursday.
“Our hearts and our thoughts go to the family members of the queen, go to the people of the United Kingdom,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters, noting how Biden had known her for more than three decades.
Doctors had been monitoring the queen’s health at Balmoral Castle in Scotland throughout the day, with Biden briefed on her health.
Elizabeth met 14 American presidents throughout her reign, standing alongside them to commemorate historic and painful moments in U.S. history. Biden first met her in 1982 while traveling as part of a Senate delegation.
“She helped Americans commemorate both the anniversary of the founding of Jamestown and the bicentennial of our independence,” Biden recalled. “And she stood in solidarity with the United States during our darkest days after 9/11, when she poignantly reminded us that ‘grief is the price we pay for love.’”
Biden also ordered flags on federal land be flown at half-staff until the queen’s interment. “In a world of constant change, she was a steadying presence and a source of comfort and pride for generations of Britons, including many who have never known their country without her,” he wrote in a presidential proclamation.
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The president was closely monitoring the situation in the hours leading up to her death, National Security Council strategic communications coordinator John Kirby told reporters earlier.
Biden also spoke with Prime Minister Elizabeth Truss of the U.K. and other U.S. allies and conveyed that he was keeping the queen and her family in his thoughts.
