Those invited and rejected to Elizabeth II’s funeral

hundreds of foreign leaders Kings are invited to the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth in London on Monday secondlywhich would be one of the largest diplomatic meetings in decades.

Westminster Abbey has a capacity of about two thousand people and it is expected that about 500 heads of state or other official figures in each country, accompanied by their spouses, will be among them.

• in A gesture with political considerations, a handful of countries such as Russia, Afghanistan and Venezuela have not received an invitation The first British state funeral since 1965.

Yes, distant relatives of the late King, such as the Honorary King of Spain Juan Carlos, British politicians and other public figures will attend.

Kings who will attend Elizabeth II’s funeral

Many kings from Europe and other parts of the world confirmed their presence to bid farewell Queen, deceased at 96 Yearson September 8, after more than seven decades on the throne.

The ceremony will be attended by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of SpainAs well as Juan Carlos I, who abdicated the throne in 2014 and currently lives in exile in the United Arab Emirates, and his wife Sofia.

Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako of Japan They will be making their first trip abroad since assuming the throne in 2019, in breach of the Japanese tradition under which the king rarely attends funerals.

King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, Queen Maxima, Princess Beatrix, King Philip of Belgium, Harald V of Norway and Prince Albert II of Monaco will also attend.

There will also be Margaret of Denmark, a distant cousin of Elizabeth II and currently the only queen on the European throne.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salmanthe country’s de facto ruler, was also invited and was due to meet British Prime Minister Liz Truss on Sunday evening, despite international outrage over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in Turkey in 2018.

world leaders

Downing Street did not confirm a British media report that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s wife, Olena, would attend the funeral.

USA President Joe Biden His wife, Jill, heads the diplomatic guest list. Unlike other leaders who were required to get to the monastery by bus, Biden was given permission to use his armored presidential limousine.

The presidents of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, are also expected.

French President Emmanuel Macron He will attend to show the “unbreakable” link with the UK and pay tribute to the “eternal queen”.

China has announced that it will send its vice president, Wang Qishan, at the invitation of the British government.

Despite the post-Brexit tensions, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel will be in London.

Other leaders expected on Monday include Italian presidents Sergio Mattarella, Frank Walter Steinmeier of Germany, Isaac Herzog of Israel and Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea.

Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin will also attend, in a symbolic gesture to honor the Queen after her state visit in 2011 to defuse decades-old tension.

Commonwealth

Many of the guests come from countries where Elizabeth II reigned, despite some of them’ republican ambitions.

In total, 56 representatives from Commonwealth countries will be in the monastery.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Australian Anthony Albanese and New Zealander Jacinda Ardern are also scheduled to attend.

Among the rest of the Commonwealth of Nations, which includes in particular the former British colonies, South African President Cyril RamaphosaBangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama.

uninvited

Russia Belarus is part of a small group of countries excluded from the funeral Queen Elizabeth II After the invasion of Ukraine, which Russian President Vladimir Putin considered “blasphemous” and “immoral”.

Burma is also on that list.a former British colony run by the military after the 2021 coup.

The other countries excluded are Afghanistan, Syria and Venezuela. London does not recognize Nicolas Maduro as president, but the opposition Juan Guaido.

The Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega has also been sacked. The Central American country only received an invitation at the ambassadorial level, as did North Korea and Iran.

• Mexico, for its part, chose to send its foreign minister, Marcelo Ebrard, and Cuba, its vice president, Salvador Valdes Mesa.