'The special relationship continues': Jill Biden says it was 'wonderful' to spend time with Carrie

Jill Biden has said it was ‘wonderful’ to spend time with Carrie Johnson and baby Wilfred as she tweeted a photo of their barefoot beach walk with the caption, ‘The special relationship continues’. 

The US First Lady, 70, seemed a natural counterpart to the 33-year-old mother of one, and the pair were seem smiling together during downtime yesterday in Carbis Bay, Cornwall, for the G7 summit.

Mrs Biden tweeted: ‘It was wonderful to spend some time with Carrie Johnson and her son, Wilfred, today. The special relationship continues.’ 

President Biden yesterday met Boris Johnson face-to-face for the first time at the Tregenna Castle Hotel in St. Ives, with the US leader giving him a bike helmet and his British counterpart hailing him as a ‘breath of fresh air’. 

The pair were keen to downplay their differences following tensions over Brexit, with the 78-year-old Democrat branded ‘senile’ by one Brexiteer MP after he failed to side with the UK in its ‘sausage war’ bust-up with the EU. 

The G7 summit marks the first major engagement for Boris and Carrie since they married in a secret wedding ceremony last month. 

While it is not entirely typical to have an official photoshoot with children for a G7 meeting, world leaders bringing their families along is not without precedent. At the 2013 G8 summit, US President Barrack Obama arrived in Northern Ireland along with wife Michelle and daughters Sasha and Malia – who were 14 and 12 at the time.  

Yesterday, President Biden was pictured with his hand on Mrs Johnson’s back, echoing previous incidents which earned him the insulting nickname ‘Creepy Joe’. Late last month the President was slammed for ‘creepy’ remarks he made about a young girl during a speech at a Virginia military base, saying she ‘looks like she’s 19 years old, sitting there like a little lady with her legs crossed’.    

This year’s summit comes as the US is said to have issued a ‘demarche’ to Britain, an official diplomatic censure not normally used against allies, especially those as close as the two nations.

Crunch talks between Britain and Brussels over sausage imports have failed to make a breakthrough and European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic threatened to retaliate if Britain takes unilateral action to continue the flow of British-produced chilled meats to Northern Ireland.   

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday that the protocol was the ‘one and only solution’ to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland and that she still saw ‘fundamental gaps’ in Britain’s implementation of it. 

The United States was said to have waded in and ‘strongly urged’ Britain to ‘stay cool’ and reach an agreement, even if that meant making ‘unpopular compromises’.  

The report prompted a massive backlash from Tory backbenchers and the DUP leader Edwin Poots after the PM was accused of ‘inflaming tensions’ in Northern Ireland and threatening the peace process. 

But a senior Biden administration official said: ‘This is wrong. First this discussion wasn’t directed by the president. It was not heightened. As with any ally we have diplomatic conversations about areas where we have concern at many levels. 

‘Jake (Sullivan – US national security adviser) addressed the issue of Northern Ireland during his BBC interview and the message sent privately was exactly the same.’

The official later added that the president would not get ‘controversial or adversarial’ when he speaks to the PM about Northern Ireland.

‘He didn’t come here to give a lecture,’ they said.

‘He believes that the Good Friday agreement is the foundation for peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland … the current discussions between the UK and EU should continue the vitality of Good Friday agreement.’

Defusing the row should be much easier because – in a break with convention for the first meeting between a PM and president – the leaders are not due to hold a joint press conference.   

However, if it is confirmed that a demarche was sent, it will show the strength of feeling in the Biden administration over Northern Ireland. 

The First Lady briefly spoke with media after she finished having tea with Carrie, saying: ‘It’s really nice to be here in Cornwall. It’s my first time. Obviously it’s beautiful for those of you have been here before.’

‘Joe and I are really looking forward to meeting everyone at the G7.’ 

Meanwhile she also revealed she was looking forward to meeting with members of the royal family, saying: ‘Well, we’re hoping to focus, I think, on education. Joe and I are both looking forward to meeting the Queen. 

‘That’s an exciting part of the visit for us. We’ve looked forward to this for weeks and now it’s finally here. It’s a beautiful beginning.’

Carrie wore her hair in a soft wave, and kept her makeup chic and simple for the occasion. Her vibrant red dress is described online as inspired by the ‘glamour of the chic 1930s’. 

Meanwhile it also features a bow detailing across the front, oversized pearl buttons to the bodice and puff shoulders. 

L.K. Bennett is a firm high street favourite for the Duchess of Cambridge, who is believed to have inspired some of Carrie’s fashion choices ahead of the summit this weekend. 

Earlier yesterday, a photo was shared as newlyweds Carrie and Boris visited a beach ahead of the G7 summit in Cornwall. 

The mother-of-one looked stylish in a chic mustard yellow dress from small British brand Alice Early – for the outing, which she accessorised with a gold chain necklace and glittering rings.

The £265 dress, which was made in London, is described online as  ‘a jewel’ which will ‘brighten up the dullest of days’. 

Dresses delivered to Downing Street earlier this week indicated Carrie had been looking to the Duchess of Cambridge for wardrobe inspiration.

Carrie is understood to have  chosen some of Kate’s most beloved labels — L.K. Bennett, Alessandra Rich and The Vampire’s Wife for the event.

Meanwhile she has also opted for a similar silhouette to one favoured by the Duchess: narrow and feminine with a high neckline, pouffy shoulders and a mid-calf-length skirt.  

And it appears Carrie has also hired some of her wardrobe for the event – two collections from dress hire companies My Wardrobe HQ and Hurr Collective were delivered on Wednesday and Thursday. 

Yesterday, the White House announced America’s First Lady will meet with newlywed Carrie during her trip to the UK for the G7 summit.

In a statement released yesterday, it was confirmed that President Joe Biden’s wife Jill, 70, will enjoy a visit with the new Mrs Johnson over tea yesterday.

Jill, a university professor, and Carrie, a former Tory aide, were then scheduled to  tour St. Michael’s Mount off the coast of Cornwall, where the G7 summit is being held on Friday. 

However the tour of the castle has been cancelled due to poor weather. 

‘The President and First Lady will meet with The Right Honorable Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Mrs Carrie Johnson,’ the statement from the First Lady’s office read.

‘The First Lady and Mrs Johnson will meet separately over tea and then tour St. Michael’s Mount off the coast of Cornwall.’

This weekend, when Mrs Johnson joins her new husband Boris at the G7 Summit, will be their first major engagement as a married couple. 

Carrie will be in charge of all the leaders’ spouses, including France’s First Lady Brigitte Macron, 68, Joachim Sauer, 72, husband of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, 46, wife of Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau. 

Boris and Carrie married in a private Catholic ceremony at Westminster Cathedral on May 29, with a small group of family and friends present. 

They proceeded with a small reception in the Downing Street garden, where an official photograph of the bride and groom was taken.

The couple have already sent save-the-date cards for a wider celebration on July 30 next year.

The couple’s one-year-old son Wilfred attended the small wedding in the cathedral where he had previously been baptised.

The bride wore a rented long lace gown and a floral headband. She has taken the Prime Minister’s surname and is now known as Mrs Johnson.

It is understood Mrs Johnson was unhappy that an unofficial snap, presumed to have been taken by a guest, circulated on social media. 

Downing Street declined to comment on the timing of the wedding.

Meanwhile, President Biden is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Boris for face-to-face talks tomorrow – the first time the two men will have met in person – before the summit formally gets underway on Friday. 

When the summit ends on Sunday, the President and First Lady will meet the Queen at Windsor Castle.

Mr Biden will then depart for Brussels where he will attend a NATO summit and a joint US-EU summit before then heading to Geneva in Switzerland for a bilateral showdown with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

In an article for the Washington Post, Mr Biden announced that the trip is about ‘realising America’s renewed commitment to our allies and partners’ as he attempts to mend relations with Britain and the EU.

His predecessor Donald Trump engaged in a bitter trade row with the EU and slammed NATO members for failing to spend more on defence – sparking fears that he would pull the US out of the alliance.

The Republican president also angered the international community after he formally withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris Agreement – both negotiated by Barack Obama. One of Mr Biden’s first acts as President was to rejoin the climate accord and reopen nuclear talks with the Islamic Republic. 

Mr Biden also said that he would meet with Mr Johnson to ‘affirm the special relationship between our nations’ – a term which the British premier reportedly told the President that he hates because it is ‘too needy’.