Britain Feels Like A Third Wheel Ahead Of President Biden's Visit To Ireland

The president of the United States is visiting the UK next week, but it will not be the state visit headlined in many British media reports at the start of the Easter holiday weekend. It is rather a single day's visit to Belfast to join events marking the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

- Mary Dejevsky

Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, will then spend three days in the Republic of Ireland, partly in connection with the anniversary, partly discussing bilateral relations, and partly - in the time-honored tradition of Irish-American politicians - celebrating the Biden family's ancestral roots in the counties of Mayo and Louth.

Now you might think, and I would not disagree, that visits north and south of the border to commemorate the agreement that brought an end to the 30 years of armed conflict known as "The Troubles" make very good sense. After all, the agreement, also known as the Belfast Agreement, was brokered by the United States, in the person of the lawyer and retired senator, George Mitchell. And if the president and first lady are going to cross the Atlantic for the anniversary, then it also makes sense for them to combine official events with that largely personal journey.

And so it might seem. But it is also possible to discern hints that preparations for the four days of next week that the Bidens will spend travelling in the island of Ireland have been something of a diplomatic minefield for all concerned and will retain enormous sensitivity until Air Force One has safely crossed out of Irish airspace next Friday.

Much, though not all, of that sensitivity resides in London, with another, even more sensitive portion, in Northern Ireland. Let's start with the US president's state visit to the UK, or rather the disclosure that an invitation had been issued and accepted. That news came out from the White House; it has not, at the time of writing at least, been confirmed by Buckingham Palace.