The Obama Diary

There’s a live BBC feed here - and occasional live streaming at CNN

President Barack Obama walks out to make a statement to reporters about tornado damage in the United States at Winfield House in London, May 24 - the President will visit Missouri on Sunday

President Obama speaks with Prince Charles as they leave Winfield House, the official residence of the United States ambassador, in Regent’s Park, London

First lady Michelle Obama with Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall

President Obama shakes hands with Queen Elizabeth II as first lady Michelle Obama and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, look on, at Buckingham Palace

….meeting Britain’s Prince William and his wife Kate at Buckingham Palace

President Obama reviews troops with Prince Phillip during an official arrival ceremony at Buckingham Palace

The President and Mrs. Obama gave Queen Elizabeth II a collection of rare memorabilia and photographs in a handmade leather bound album that chronologically highlights her parents’ (King George VI and Queen Elizabeth) visit to the United States in 1939. As the 1939 visit was the first such trip to the United States by a reigning British monarch, this gift contains both historic and personal value.

For Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the President and Mrs. Obama gave a custom-made set of Fell Pony bits and shanks, as well as original horseshoes worn by recently retired champion carriage horse Jamaica. The Duke of Edinburgh has a keen interest in equestrian sports and specifically in carriage driving. Designed in Colorado and made in Ohio, the set includes several interchangeable bits and each shank is engraved with the Presidential Seal. A slaughterhouse rescue horse, Jamaica rose to the top of carriage horse competition and was named the 2008 United States Equestrian Federation Horse of the Year.

For The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, the President and Mrs. Obama gave a special selection of plants, seedlings and seeds from the gardens of Mount Vernon, Monticello and the South Lawn of The White House, as well as jars of honey from The White House beehive. This one-of-a-kind collection is presented in a specially handcrafted wooden box made from a Magnolia tree that fell on the grounds of The White House during the snowstorm of February 2009. Magnolia trees have been a fixture on the South Lawn of The White House since the mid-nineteenth century.

President Obama talks with the Queen during a tour of the Portrait Gallery at Buckingham Palace