Tuesday 24 May 2011

Obama prepares for royal reception in London

LONDON - President Barack Obama is trading in the charm of a small Irish town for the pomp and pageantry of Buckingham Palace during a state visit to Britain two days at the invitation of Queen Elizabeth II.

Obama arrived in London Monday night, a little earlier than planned, due to security concerns on a cloud of volcanic ash blown into Britain from Iceland. The navigation path of the ash forced the president to make a hasty departure from Dublin.

While Obama will tackle thorny issues of foreign policy in the coming days, the opening rounds of his tour of four European countries are all about personal politics made him so beloved in this continent as a presidential candidate and the first days of his term in office.

While in Ireland, Obama embraced the touch of Irish family history, drinking a pint of Guinness with a distant cousin in the village of Moneygall and delivering a rousing speech on relations between the U.S. and Ireland before tens of thousands of people crowded into the center of Dublin.

In London, the president and his wife, Michelle, embrace the tradition and history of the royal family of Britain, which is experiencing a resurgence in popularity after the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, now known as Princess Catalina .

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