Obama set for Palace audience with Queen

Published on Friday 6 March 2009 21:02

BARACK Obama is expected to meet the Queen at Buckingham Palace when he visits Britain next month.

There was no official confirmation from the Palace, the Foreign Office or the US Embassy in London of reports that the president will have an informal "getting to know you" session with the Queen ahead of the G20 summit of the world's leading economies on 2 April.

But detailed reports in some newspapers suggested Mr Obama will fly to the UK with his wife, Michelle, on 31 March – two days ahead of the summit – and have an audience with the Queen the following day.

This would be unusual, as such an audience more generally takes place only as part of an official state visit.

In a statement, the White House confirmed Mr Obama's visit to Europe will begin on 31 March in the UK.

If the royal audience goes ahead, Mr Obama would be the 11th US president to meet the Queen, who has met each of the holders of the post since her accession in 1952, with the exception of Lyndon Johnson.

Reports suggested Mr and Mrs Obama will arrive on Air Force One at Stansted on the evening of 31 March, before being flown by helicopter to the residence of the US ambassador in London.

On the eve of the G20 summit, he will attend a dinner hosted by the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, at No10 for all the visiting world leaders and their wives, it was reported.

Following the G20 gathering, Mr Obama will hold talks with the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, before attending a Nato summit in Strasbourg and a meeting with European leaders in Prague.