President Biden went off script at the end of his gun control speech on Friday when he said, “God save the Queen, man.”
Members of the White House press pool say they don’t know why Biden mentioned the Queen of England 9 months after she died from natural causes.
“Several of you have asked me why he might have said that,” Todd Gillman of the Dallas Morning News wrote. “I have no idea. Other poolers likewise have no idea.”
White House press secretary Olivia Dalton told reporters that Biden “was commenting to someone in the crowd.”
However, Democrats say the 80-year-old President was simply paying tribute to England’s monarch on the eve of the spectacular Trooping of the Colour parade which is taking place now.
The Trooping of The Colour (spelled “Trooping The Color” in the U.S.) is the official birthday of the British Sovereign. June 17 marks His Majesty King Charles III’s first Trooping of The Colour as monarch.
The birthday parade is a colorful extravaganza of pomp and pageantry featuring over 1400 parading soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians.
The King of England became the first monarch to ride on horseback in the birthday parade in 30 years. The King’s first Trooping The Colour got underway at Horse Guards Parade on Saturday. King Charles III, 74, chose to ride horseback rather than ride in a horse-drawn carriage. The King turns 75 in November.
The King is pictured center with his son Prince William, his brother Prince Edward and their sister, Princess Anne (right).
Prince Louis (center) reacts to the pungent odor of horse droppings along the parade route. Louis is seated between his brother, Prince George and their sister, Princess Charlotte.
Queen Camilla (left) looks on as Catherine, Princess of Wales waves at the crowds who waited hours for the start of the Trooping of The Colour parade.
The King did not invite exiled Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle to Trooping of The Colour this year.
The royals, who defected to America in 2020, were fired by Spotify last week after they turned in only 13 episodes in nearly 3 years as part of their $20 million podcast deal with Spotify.
A Spotify producer referred to Harry and Meghan as “lazy” and “grifters”.
