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Obamas Welcomed at Britain's Buckingham Palace

   VOA News  May 24, 2011
   US President Barack Obama and Britain's Prince Philip, right, review
   the Honour Guard at Buckingham Palace in London, May 24, 2011.

Photo: AP

   US President Barack Obama and Britain's Prince Philip, right, review
   the Honour Guard at Buckingham Palace in London, May 24, 2011.

   Queen Elizabeth has welcomed U.S. President Barack Obama to Buckingham
   Palace for his first official state visit to Britain.
   President Obama and his wife, Michelle, were honored Tuesday with an
   elaborate arrival ceremony, complete with a 41-gun salute.
   The Obamas stood on the palace steps with the queen, Prince Philip, and
   Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, as British Army soldiers known as
   Scots Guards played the U.S. national anthem.
   Earlier, the Obamas met privately with royal newlyweds Prince William
   and Catherine Middleton.
   Later, the queen will treat the U.S. president and first lady to a
   state dinner at the palace.
   The Obamas' two-day visit to London is part of a four-nation European
   tour.
   Later Tuesday, the president also is scheduled to meet with British
   Prime Minister David Cameron. President Obama and Cameron are expected
   to discuss security and economic issues, as they prepare for the Group
   of Eight nations summit later this week in France.
   In a joint column printed Tuesday in the Times of London newspaper, the
   two leaders said the relationship between their countries is not just
   special, but essential.
   The White House says the president also will participate in a
   wreath-laying at Westminster Abbey and meet with opposition leader
   David Miliband.
   Obama arrived in London Monday evening ahead of schedule, after cutting
   short his visit to Ireland because of concerns about ash spreading
   across the region from a volcano in Iceland.
   After Britain, he travels to France for the Group of Eight economic
   summit and then to Poland for talks with Central European leaders.
   In Ireland, President Obama held talks with Irish President Mary
   McAleese and Prime Minister Enda Kenny and participated in a
   tree-planting ceremony to mark the 10th anniversary of the Good Friday
   agreement that put Northern Ireland on the road to peace.
   During his visit, Obama highlighted the friendship between the United
   States and Ireland, which he said is not just a matter of strategic
   interest and foreign policy, but also carries a "blood link." That link
   extends to the president himself, whose great-great-great grandfather
   on his mother's side was born in Ireland in 1830 and emigrated to the
   U.S. 20 years later.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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