President Barack Obama has a royally packed schedule in London on Friday.
Two of his meals during a stop in the British capital will be shared with senior members of the royal family. After a visit to Windsor Castle to deliver 90th birthday greetings to Queen Elizabeth II, Obama will meet for dinner with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry at Kensington Palace in central London.
First lady Michelle Obama will join him for dinner, which the palace announced on Monday. It’s familiar territory for Mrs. Obama: She was a guest at a tea party there hosted by Prince Harry just last year.
It’s also not the first time the Obamas and the Cambridges have met in London. The last time the first couple traveled to the United Kingdom together, in 2011, they greeted the recently wed Kate and William at a reception in their honor at Buckingham Palace. A year later, Michelle Obama — traveling for the opening of the 2012 Olympics — had another chance to say hello to the couple.
During a NATO summit in Wales two years ago, Obama dropped by a reception Prince Charles was hosting in the hills outside Cardiff.
The hospitality has been reciprocated back home. Prince Harry surprised a gathering of military families during a visit to the White House in 2013. William was granted an Oval Office sit-down with the President in 2014 to discuss his efforts to combat wildlife trafficking. Prince Charles made a similar call to the Oval Office last year alongside his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.
Queen Elizabeth II hasn’t visited the White House during Obama’s tenure, though he’s been her guest in London twice. They also met during the D-Day anniversary celebrations in Normandy in 2014.
As the dinner Friday falls on the first night of Passover, the White House has said Obama will move his yearly seder to the following week.
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