First lady to meet meet prince and prime minister to promote campaign for girls’ education and better support for military families

The US first lady, Michelle Obama, is to meet Prince Harry and David Cameron on the first of a two-day visit to the UK to promote her charity work.

Obama is visiting Britain to discuss her campaigns for girls’ education and better support for military families.

She will host an event at the Mulberry school for Girls in Tower Hamlets in east London to discuss cooperation between the US and UK to improve educational opportunities for girls across the world through the Let Girls Learn initiative, championed by her and her husband, Barack Obama.

Preparations at Mulberry were intense on the eve of the visit. The school’s headteacher, Vanessa Ogden, said: “We are delighted to be welcoming Michelle Obama. The first lady is one of the greatest, most inspiring women of our time and her visit is an honour for us.

“Her use of her platform as first lady to drive change for girls and to break down barriers in access to education is critical for a civilised world. The moral imperative is clear and the business case supports it. This is the call to get behind her global campaign.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Michelle Obama meets the Camerons outside No 10

Pupils at the single-sex comprehensive will get the chance to grill the first lady – along with Julia Gillard, the former prime minister of Australia who chairs the board of the Global Partnership for Education.



Writing in the Financial Times, Obama cited figures suggesting that more than 62 million girls were out of school across the world, which she described as “a heartbreaking injustice”. Girls faced obstacles to education such as forced marriages, early pregnancies, abuse and sexism, she said. “That kind of life is unthinkable for the girls in our lives, so why would we accept this fate for any girl on this planet?

“This week I will join Prime Minister David Cameron in London to begin to answer that question, and announce a series of partnerships between the US and UK to educate adolescent girls in developing countries around the world.”

She praised the UK as a global leader for girls’ education and said one joint scheme included a $180m (£115m) investment in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

She added: “In addition, our development agencies and two of the countries’ leading universities will collaborate on evidence-based research to determine the best ways to educate adolescent girls. And British and American partners will work together to support teacher training, girls’ leadership camps, and other community-based programmes in developing countries.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Michelle Obama visits London

“Combined, these efforts total nearly $200m – but, given the scope of this challenge, even that is nowhere near sufficient. Girls’ education is a global issue that requires a global solution.”

Upon arrival in the UK on Monday night, the first lady was greeted by US military families as she stepped off the plane at Stansted airport, followed by her mother and two daughters.

The White House said Prince Harry was hosting Obama two years after attending a tea for military mothers with her in the US. The prince was in the US on official business, including an event promoting the Halo Trust, an anti-landmine charity he supports.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Girls at the Mulberry school await Michelle Obama’s arrival. Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Her chief of staff, Tina Tchen, said: “He was wonderful and it was wonderful to have him here. And we hear from his staff that he is happy to return the favour.” She added that they would be able to talk about “that shared interest that they have on military families”.

The Joining Forces campaign – another of those spearheaded by the first lady – “works hand in hand with the public and private sectors to ensure that service members, veterans and their families have the tools they need to succeed throughout their lives”.

A Downing Street meeting with David and Samantha Cameron is also scheduled.

On Wednesday, Obama and her family will travel to Milan to lead the presidential delegation to the city’s Expo 2015, which is promoting global dialogue about the future of our food system. She will use the opportunity to encourage healthier eating for children.