I find this whole thing to be a bit confusing. Do US presidents normally attend the swearing-in ceremonies of other major allied heads-of-state?
For example, does the US president attend when a new German president is sworn in? Does he attend when a new French president is sworn in? I don’t think so.
I get that the US and the UK have a special relationship. But I must reluctantly give Biden a pass here. And that alone gives me heartburn.
Political heads of state come and go. And there are a lot of them. So I would think the answer is no, US presidents do not normally attend the swearing-in ceremonies of other major allied heads-of-state.
But, royal coronations are a different thing. They don't happen often, and in this case, it's more of an apolitical cultural thing.
I get that the US and the UK have a special relationship. But I must reluctantly give Biden a pass here. And that alone gives me heartburn.
And as you point out, we have a special relationship with the UK.
My main point on this thread is that there really is no established protocol for UK coronations. That was a Big Media talking point. If I had to give an opinion on our president going, I would say, yes, go if you are invited and pay respect to the people of the UK, because the UK is a strong allie, royal coronations don't happen often, and in the case of the UK, a coronation is more of a cultural event rather than an intra country political event.
Anyway, here is a list of presidents and prime ministers who are going and who are paying respect to the people of the UK on their big day.
Polish President Andrzej Duda, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. China and India will be represented by their vice presidents, Han Zheng and Jagdeep Dhankhar, respectively.
Our president and VP are not going.