List of invitations to the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II
LONDON: Queen Elizabeth’s funeral ceremony is expected to start at 6pm this afternoon at Westminster Abbey, London.
Broadcast live on television for the whole world to see, the ceremony was also attended by 2,000 special guests invited by the British government to witness the final journey of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
This ceremony will also be one of the largest gatherings organized in the United Kingdom for several decades.
Here is the list of special guests:
Royal family
Most of Europe’s royals confirmed their presence at the historic ceremony this evening.
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and the King Queen, Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah will represent Malaysia.
Japan’s Emperor, Naruhito and Empress Masako represent the Japanese government.
King Harald V of Norway, Prince Albert II of Monaco, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and King Philippe of Belgium will all also attend.
Denmark’s queen, Margrethe II, also canceled events marking the 50th jubilee because she wanted to pay her last respects.
Also confirming the departure is the King of Spain, Felipe VI with his wife, Queen Letizia including his father, King Juan Carlos I who is currently living in exile in the United Arab Emirates.
World leader
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and wife Olena are expected to attend as he visited the Queen’s coffin at Westminster Hall on Sunday.
The President of the United States (US), Joe Biden and his wife Jill will head the diplomatic guest list and fly to Britain late yesterday, also paying their respects in front of the coffin yesterday. ] He reportedly arrived in an armored limousine ‘The Beast’.
The Elysee Palace announced that French President Emmanuel Macron would attend to show his ‘inseparable’ bond with Britain and pay tribute to the ‘eternal queen’.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil will come, while China is represented by its Vice President, Wang Qishan, at the invitation of the British government.
Although Britain is leaving the European Union through Brexit, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel will pay their last respects.
Other heads of state who also attended included Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Frank-Walter Steinmeier (Germany), Isaac Herzog (Israel) and Yoon Suk-yeol (South Korea).
The Prime Minister of Ireland, Micheal Martin will also be present to pay his respects to the deceased who visited the country in 2011 thus helping to restore decades of tension.
Commonwealth country representatives
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese and New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern confirmed their presence.
While leaders from 56 other Commonwealth countries include the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa; Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina; The President of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Prime Minister of Fiji, Frank Bainimarama.
Despite the strained relationship, the British government also chose to invite only ambassadors, not heads of state, from several countries including Iran, Nicaragua and North Korea.
Uninvited guests
Russia and Belarus are among a small group of countries excluded altogether following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin – under a travel ban to the UK due to sanctions and representatives of other countries not invited are Myanmar, Syria, Venezuela and Afghanistan.
source – Faida Rahim
