In addition to the millions of Englishmen who have promised to stop in the English capital to mourn the death of their sovereign, around 500 heads of state must personally pay their condolences to the royal family at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II next Monday (19).
Among those who have already confirmed their presence are US President Joe Biden, accompanied by the First Lady, and Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro, who on the same day flies to New York to attend the UN General Assembly.
In addition to them, presidents Emmanuel Macron (France), Frank-Walter Steinmeier (Germany), and Yoon Suk-Yeol (South Korea), as well as leaders from several Commonwealth countries, such as Justin Trudeau (Canada), Jacinda Ardern (New Zealand) and Droupadi Murmu (India).
European royalty, who in many cases have blood ties to the British royal family, are also present. The monarchs of Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway have announced that they will be at the funeral, and even the King Emeritus of Spain, Juan Carlos, is expected to break into exile to attend the ceremony.
From the other side of the globe, come Naruhito and Masako, the Japanese imperial couple, on their first international trip since ascending the throne. It is a rare appearance by the empress, who withdrew from public life two decades ago.
Some of the invitations somewhat surprised the international community, as they were aimed at leaders of dictatorships or authoritarian regimes. For example, Chinese Xi Jinping, North Korean Kim Jong-un and Nicaraguan Daniel Ortega were called. While the former will send his deputy Wang Qishan to the event, the other two will be represented by officials from their respective embassies. Turkish Recep Tayyip Erdogan was also invited and is expected to attend the funeral in person.
Those who are bitter about being excluded from the list are mainly the countries targeted by sanctions imposed by London or its allies in the West. This is the case with Russia, Myanmar and Belarus – Iran, penalized because of its nuclear program, is an exception to this rule, and will be represented by ambassadors. Syria and Venezuela, which do not maintain diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom, were also not called, as was Afghanistan, under Taliban rule.
Those who would get a place in the disputed event will have to travel together to Westminster Abbey on Monday (19), in some type of collective transport to be offered by the royal family and whose meeting point is the Royal Hospital, in the west of London. The expectation is that the holiday will stop the English capital, with millions of people on the streets and traffic interruption on central public roads.
Before that, on Sunday (18), the heads of state attend an official reception hosted by King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla at Buckingham Palace. Guests will also be able to visit the Queen’s body at Westminster Hall.
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