Former President Barack Obama remembered Queen Elizabeth II, in a video tribute launched on Monday, the day the queen was laid to relaxation. Within the video, he stated the queen reminded him of his grandmother, and he spoke a few second of kindness from her towards him and Former First woman Michelle Obama.
Mr. Obama stated the primary time he met the queen whereas visiting London, it shocked him that she reminded him very a lot of his grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, who helped increase him. She reminded him "not simply in look, but in addition in method," he stated, including that she was very gracious, but in addition no-nonsense.
"[She had a] dry humorousness and he or she couldn't have been extra variety or considerate to me and Michelle," he stated.
He remembered a time when he and Michelle went again to England with their daughters, Malia and Sasha, and Queen Elizabeth II invited his spouse and daughters to tea.
"She then supplied the women to drive in her golden carriage across the grounds of Buckingham Palace," the previous president remembered. "It was the kind of generosity and consideration that left a mark in my daughters' lives that's nonetheless there."
He stated the queen was a superb listener, with a real curiosity, "though she was impatient to get to the purpose."
Mr. Obama additionally shared a second of kindness from the queen, after a state dinner at Buckingham Palace in 2011. "The queen was dressed up fairly a bit for the state dinner. It was slightly bit regarding for Michelle, as a result of as a present to her majesty, Michelle had chosen a small, modest brooch of nominal worth," he stated.
The following evening, the previous president and first woman hosted their very own dinner on the American Embassy. "The one factor we instantly seen is that [the queen] was carrying the brooch the Michelle had given her," he stated. "It was an instance of the delicate thoughtfulness that she constantly displayed. Not simply to us, however everyone who she interacted with."
He additionally stated the queen was conscious of visitors overstaying their welcome – and as a visitor, she did the identical. "She checked out her watch at a sure level and stated, 'I feel we have to wrap this up,'" Mr. Obama stated.
"The mixture of a way of obligation and a transparent understanding of her position as a logo for the nations – the provider of a sure set of values – mixed with a really human high quality of kindness and consideration. I feel that's what made her so beloved, not simply in nice Britain, however around the globe," he stated.
Queen Elizabeth II died earlier this month on the age of 96 and her historic state funeral passed off on Monday. President Biden, together with round 500 international dignitaries, was in attendance.
The queen had been mendacity in state at Westminster Corridor since Wednesday. On Monday, a procession carried her coffin to Westminster Abbey. Following a service there, a strolling procession took the coffin to Hyde Park, the place it was transferred to a state hearse. It was then carried to St. George's Chapel at Windsor Fortress, the queen's ultimate resting place.