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US president to inspect a guard of honour before a private lunch with the Queen Barack Obama is meeting the Queen on Tuesday with the US president formally beginning his state visit to Britain by flying by helicopter to Buckingham Palace to cement what the two countries’ elected leaders describe as “an essential relationship”. Obama arrived in the UK from Ireland on Air Force One late on Monday, earlier than planned, to avoid the volcanic ash cloud blowing down from Iceland . He stayed at the US ambassador’s residence in central London ahead of a day of royal protocol with most of the hard talking on global politics with David Cameron expected on Wednesday. The prime minister is hopeful the two leaders can assert they are aligned on tackling financial deficits as well as addressing Libya, the Arab spring and Afghanistan. Obama was expected to be greeted in the grounds of Buckingham Palace by the Duke of Edinburgh, inspecting a guard of honour before a private lunch with the Queen. Obama, accompanied by his wife Michelle, was then due to go to Westminister Abbey to lay a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Warrior before meeting David and Samantha Cameron at Downing Street. They were also expected to meet opposition leader Ed Miliband at Buckingham Place where they will stay after a formal dinner. Keen royal watchers will be hoping for a repeat of the famous arm round each other embrace between the queen and Michelle, when the Obamas last visited in 2009. Any implicit endorsement of the government’s deficit reduction plan by the Democrat president would be a massive political prize for the Conservatives, helping to immunise the prime minister from some Labour attacks that the cuts go too fast and too deep. In a joint article, Obama and Cameron said despite being two leaders from two different political traditions, they saw eye to eye.” “When the United States and Britain stand together, our people and people around the world can become more secure and more prosperous. “And that is the key to our relationship. Yes, it is founded on a deep emotional connection, by sentiment and ties of people and culture. But the reason it thrives, the reason why this is such a natural partnership, is because it advances our common interests and shared values. “It is a perfect alignment of what we both need and what we both believe. And the reason it remains strong is because it delivers time and again. Ours is not just a special relationship, it is an essential relationship – for us and for the world.” They also promised not to abandon the protesters fighting for democracy in the Arab spring. “We will not stand by as their aspirations get crushed in a hail of bombs, bullets and mortar fire,” said the two leaders, in an article in the Times. “We are reluctant to use force, but when our interests and values come together, we know we have a responsibility to act … We will stand with those who want to bring light into dark, support those who seek freedom in place of repression, aid those laying the building blocks of democracy.” The joint article also refers to the need to tackle deficits. Privately, Conservative sources are increasingly confident that the Treasury and its American counterpart are now seeing eye to eye on deficit reduction after being at odds for some months. They believe the US treasury secretary, Tim Geithner, has formed a close relationship with the chancellor, George Osborne. In April, Obama laid out plans to cut the deficit by $4 trillion over the next 10 years, a pace of reduction that the Conservatives claim is similar to the UK’s goals. The British plan aims to cut the deficit from 11.1% of gross domestic product in 2009-2010 to 1.5% of GDP in 2015-2016. Under the US president’s plan, public-sector borrowing will fall from 10.9% of GDP this year to 3.3% in 2016. The US plan starts later, but aims to achieve the same pace of reduction, using the same proportionate mix of tax rises and spending cuts. During a triumphant visit to Ireland, Obama gave a shot in the arm to the morale of a country buffeted by economic troubles. Barack Obama Monarchy London Patrick Wintour James Meikle guardian.co.uk