'She reminded me of my mother,' says Joe Biden after tea with the Queen

They made a lovely couple, putting the 'elder' into statesmen. The Queen formally welcomed Joe Biden to Windsor Castle for tea on Sunday, the 13th president she has met in 69 years on the throne.

With a combined age of 173 years, they had experience (and wisdom) in droves. President Biden, 17 years the Queen’s junior, was clearly taken. "I don’t think she’d be insulted,” he later told reporters of his visit, "[but] she reminded me of my mother."

That was quite the compliment. President Biden has cited his mother Catherine, who died in 2010 at the age of 92, as the "profound influence" on his life, helping him to overcome a stutter in his youth and organising the coffee morning fundraisers when he first ran for the Senate in 1972 at the age of 29. She was still campaigning for him when he accepted the vice presidential nomination in 2008.

In glorious late afternoon sunshine and temperatures tipping 80 degrees, the latest instalment of the trans-Atlantic showstopper that is the meeting of Queen and president made for fabulous viewing. The Queen wore a bright pink, floral dress and matching pink hat as President Biden and wife Jill - hot off Air Force One from Heathrow and a helicopter to Windsor - were driven into the castle’s quadrangle for an official home visit.

But this being the Royal family, such visits for afternoon tea include a military display and some fabulous big band tunes, including the Star Spangled Banner, after which the President was invited to inspect the Guard of Honour.

President Biden was suitably impressed. "I said we could fit the White House in the courtyard," the President disclosed to reporters waiting on the Heathrow tarmac for news of the conversation.

As President Biden approached the steps of Air Force One, he also revealed he had invited the Queen back to his place (the White House) and then told her: "I wish we could stay for longer, maybe we could hold the cars up a few minutes.” He added: “Anyway, she was very gracious. She was very generous."

In talks lasting just under three-quarters of an hour, the pair also discussed despots and autocrats - Presidents Putin of Russia and Xi of China - although President Biden stopped short of revealing the monarch’s view of the pair.

At the age of 95 and following a busy few days that included a dash down to Cornwall for the start of the G7 summit, The Queen appeared relaxed and happy, despite the passing of the Duke of Edinburgh in April.

She sat on a gold chair on the dais in the quadrangle alone as she waited for the official Range Rover carrying the 78-year-old President and First Lady to arrive. The Queen was wearing a Stewart Parvin dress in a floral print jacquard in shades of pink, olive and russet, and she teamed it with a hat by Rachel Trevor-Morgan and the diamond Jardine star brooch.

The car pulled up - a few minutes ahead of schedule - and out stepped President Biden, wearing dark glasses, holding his wife’s hand as they walked up the dais steps to meet the Queen. They chatted for a short time and then stood at a social distance for the US national anthem before the President walked back on to the parade ground to inspect The Queen's Company First Battalion Grenadier Guards. He took off his dark glasses to cast his beady eye.

It all went a little more smoothly than the last time a US president came to Windsor. In 2018, Donald Trump - who else? - was accused of walking in front of the Queen and blocking her route, having "halted abruptly" during the inspection.

Escorting a visiting head of state to inspect the troops is a role which usually fell to the late Duke of Edinburgh, before he retired in 2017. Perhaps fearful of the Trump episode, the Queen stayed put this time and let President Biden go it alone.

After the inspection, the Queen and President and First Lady entered into the castle’s confines via the Sovereign’s Entrance for tea in the Oak Room. As they walked, the Queen said to the President: "You completed your talks." He replied: "Yes we did."

Eschewing social distancing rules, President Biden shook hands with Dame Annabel Whitehead, the Queen’s lady-in-waiting, before going inside. The chat over tea lasted a pleasant 40 minutes before America’s First Couple departed, en route to Brussels just after 6pm.

The Queen has now met every president from Harry S Truman to Biden bar one, with only Lyndon B Johnson missing out.

In 2008, when then US president George W Bush met with the monarch at Windsor, he enjoyed a traditional English afternoon spread of tea, small sandwiches and cakes in the White Drawing Room while in 2016 the Duke of Edinburgh, then 94, famously drove Mr and Mrs Obama the short distance to the castle after Marine One touched down on the lawns of the residence.

The Bidens were on Sunday night touching down in Belgium for the next leg of their grand tour. After the pomp and the grandeur - not to mention the barbecue on the beach in Cornwall - it’s all likely to be a little … well boring.