British officials also stressed that the White House’s planning could still change in ways that would underline the administration’s respect for the new monarch.
Kim Darroch, a former British ambassador to Washington, said a Biden itinerary that excludes the king, and possibly Mr. Sunak, could very well be viewed as a snub, particularly by Britain’s tabloid newspapers.
“If they stick to this, and if they’re not doing it for very good reasons, it’s more evidence of where we stand in Washington,” said Mr. Darroch, though he added, “I suppose the AUKUS summit will be claimed as evidence to the contrary.”
It is not the first time that the Biden administration has ruffled the feathers of its European allies. French officials seethed after the announcement of the submarine alliance because it grew out of secret talks between the United States and Australia that resulted in France being elbowed out of its largest defense contract.
French officials accused Mr. Biden and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken of blindsiding them, and Mr. Blinken, who spent much of his childhood in Paris and speaks fluent French, was sent to make amends.
Relations between the United States and Britain are generally strong, but some in London note that few American presidents celebrate their Irish roots as unabashedly as Mr. Biden. At a recent St. Patrick’s Day reception with Ireland’s prime minister, Leo Varadkar, Mr. Biden reminisced about his forbears, the Finnegans of Country Louth and the Blewitts of County Mayo. He made clear he was pulling for Ireland to beat England in the six-nations rugby tournament the next day (Ireland won 29 to 16).
“I expect we know — and this is no offense to anyone — but who in the room we’re rooting for,” Mr. Biden joked, a few minutes after recognizing Britain’s ambassador to Washington, Karen Pierce, who was also in the room.
