Biden, Macron and Erdogan among world leaders attending Queen's funeral but Putin not invited
13 September 2022, 15:45 | Updated: 13 September 2022, 16:01
World leaders including Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron and Justin Trudeau will be joined at the Queen's funeral by Europe's royals, Japan's emperor and a cast of controversial statesmen including Jair Bolsonaro and Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Leaders who have already confirmed their attendance among the 2,000- strong list of VIPs include the prime ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand, leaders of Germany, France and Italy as well as the heads of state of Japan and South Korea.
US President Joe Biden said he will attend with his wife Jill, catching his White House staff off-guard as his predecessors declined to attend the last two state funerals in the UK - Winston Churchill's in 1965 and George VI's in 1952.
But there will be no places for Vladimir Putin or his ally Belarusian leader Aleksandr Lukashenko and Min Aung Hlaing of Myanmar.
It is unclear if Syria's Bashar al-Assad or North Korea's Kim Jong-un have made the guest list although it is unlikely. Iran's Ayatollah and President won't be asked - but an ambassador will be invited.
It is not thought Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be able to take time out of the Russian war fly to London and China's President Xi and India's Narendra Modi are yet to confirm.
The octogenarian King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud will have received an invite but would be highly unlikely to attend due to his age and health. His son Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, the nation's de facto leader could head to Britain in his place although it is feared this could spark protests.
The Queen's friend Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the billionaire ruler of Dubai, is yet to confirm if he will attend. The High Court previously found him responsible of UK phone hacking.
Controversial world leaders who will definitely be attending are Brazilian right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
But with so many people wanting to go, invites are limited to one per VIP plus their spouse, but there is an ongoing row after the Government urged them to fly commercially and jump on shuttle buses to get to the abbey rather than use state limousines or carriages.
All of Europe's kings and queens, as well as minor royals from the continent related to Her Majesty and Prince Philip, will be there, including King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain, King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway and Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco.
Outside of Europe, Japan's Emperor Naruhito will travel to London alongside Empress Masako and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Leading figures in Britain's public life are set to attend her funeral next week, including new Prime Minister Liz Truss and all her living predecessors.
The Queen's state funeral will take place at Westminster Abbey in central London at 11am on Monday.
Senior members of the family are expected to follow behind - just like they did for the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh.
The military will line the streets and also join the procession and the service will be televised in the UK and around the globe.
After the funeral, the Queen's coffin will be taken to St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for a televised committal service.
Later in the evening, there will be a private interment service with senior members of the royal family.
The Queen's final resting place will be the King George VI memorial chapel, an annex to the main chapel - where her mother and father were buried, along with the ashes of her sister, Princess Margaret.
Philip's coffin will move from the Royal Vault to the memorial chapel to join the Queen's.
