- President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will travel to London on Saturday.
- Attendance of foreign leaders is limited to one representative and their partner.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin will be one of the highest-profile absences at the funeral.
WASHINGTON — World leaders are set to descend on Westminster Abbey for the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in a global display of admiration for Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.
Queen Elizabeth II, who died last Thursday, was 96.
President Joe Biden, accompanied by first lady Jill Biden, is among the heads of state traveling to London for next Monday’s funeral, which will be packed with presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers, and kings and queens from other nations.
The historic event has sparked a flurry of speculation on whom will be invited by Buckingham Palace — and who might turn it down.
A notable, yet unsurprising, absence will be Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian state media reported. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russians respected Queen Elizabeth II “for her wisdom and for her global authority” but Putin attending the funeral is not under consideration. Putin drew widespread condemnation, including sanctions from United Kingdom, for his ongoing war against Ukraine.
Some top foreign leaders will have other officials represent their nations. For example, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Monday that the country’s foreign minister, Marcelo Ebrard, will represent Mexico at the funeral.
More:Will ex-presidents, including Trump and Obama, attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral? Not likely.
More:How much power did Queen Elizabeth II actually have? And will King Charles III have more or less?
Attendance by foreign leaders will be limited to one representative from each country and their partner, according to Foreign Office documents obtained by Politico.
Other leaders who have confirmed – through public statements or in multiple media reports – they plan to attend are:
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
Belgium’s King Philippe and Queen Mathilde
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro
Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Finland President Sauli Niinisto
German President Frank-Walker Steinmeier
Hungarian President Katalin Nova
Israeli Prime Minister Isaac Herzog
Italian President Sergio Mattarella
Netherlands King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
Latvian President President Egils Levits
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda
Poland’s President Andrzej Duda
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol
Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia Ortiz (Juan Carlos, Spain’s former king, will also attend, according to Spanish daily elDiario.es.)
Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesingh
Trinidad and Tobago President Paula-Mae Weekes
Members of royal families families from Norway, Denmark and Sweden will also attend the funeral, the Daily Guardian reported. Other leaders set to attend, according to Reuters, are Alexander Van der Bellen, president of Austria; Mohammad Shtayyeh, prime minister of Palestine; and European Council President Charles Michel.
Contributing: Associated Press
Reach Joey Garrison on Twitter @joeygarrison.
Source link: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~/711106810/0/usatoday-lifetopstories~World-leaders-to-pack-Queen-Elizabeth-IIs-funeral-Who-is-attending-and-who-is-not/