Afghanistan was not invited due to the political situation in that country, while Russia and Belarus were excluded due to the war in Ukraine.
Presidents, prime ministers and monarchs from around the world will travel to London this weekend to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth and to attend the reception at Buckingham Palace given by King Charles the day before the funeral.
Among the guests who have confirmed they will go to Britain are US presidents Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron.
According to a Palace spokesman, the heads of state and other senior officials will gather at the Royal Hospital, a nursing home for veterans in west London, and from there they will all go together to Westminster Abbey.
The funeral is expected to be one of the biggest challenges for the capital’s police as presidents, prime ministers, kings, queens and huge crowds descend on central London.
King Charles and his wife Camilla will host a reception at Buckingham Palace on Sunday.
Foreign dignitaries will also be invited to join the public pilgrimage inside the parliament, before the funeral. Shortly afterwards, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverley will host a reception for guests at nearby Church House while the royals head to Windsor for the burial.
Invitations have been sent to heads of state almost all over the world, with some exceptions: the leaders of Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, Russia, Belarus and Myanmar have not been invited. Syria and Venezuela were not invited because Britain does not currently have diplomatic relations with these countries. Afghanistan was not invited due to the political situation in that country, while Russia and Belarus were excluded due to the war in Ukraine. British MPs who have been sanctioned by China criticized the invitation to Beijing and called for the Chinese delegation not to be allowed into parliament, where last year a resolution was passed calling the Chinese government’s treatment of Uyghurs “genocide”.
In all, State Department officials have sent out about 1,000 invitations to Sunday’s funeral and royal reception.
Many members of royal families, such as those of Belgium and the Netherlands, have announced that they will go to London. Politicians to attend the funeral also include European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Indian President Draupadi Murmu.
The deadline for countries to accept or decline the invitation ends today. The British government will not release the list of all foreign leaders invited, partly for security reasons.
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I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
