Jill Biden visits UK's Downing Street ahead of King Charles' coronation

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. First Lady Jill Biden met British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's wife Akshata Murty at Downing Street on Friday as she visited London to represent the United States at King Charles' coronation.

The coronation ceremony takes place on Saturday at Westminster Abbey and will be attended by foreign heads of state and dignitaries.

Jill Biden, 71, will visit a local school on Friday afternoon along with Murty before meeting staff at the U.S. embassy and King Charles at a reception in Buckingham Palace.

U.S. President Joe Biden has faced some criticism, notably from his predecessor and potential 2024 election rival Donald Trump, for skipping Charles' coronation.

But, no U.S. president has ever attended a British monarch's coronation. During the last such event, when Charles' late mother Queen Elizabeth was crowned in 1953, then U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower sent a delegation of envoys to represent him.

The White House said last month Biden had told Charles he wanted to meet the king in Britain at a future date.

Biden visited Belfast and Ireland last month to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday peace pact.

(Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar; editing by William James)