As Britain gears up to bid a final adieu to Queen Elizabeth II, the Westminster Abbey, where the funeral ceremony is being held, will see dignitaries from all over the world congregate.
Besides Queen's immediate family, including King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla, around 500 guests from nearly 200 countries and territories will attend the funeral. This will include nearly 100 presidents and heads of government, and over 20 royals.
Queen's daughter Princess Anne, sons Prince Andrew and Prince Edward will be present with their spouses. The monarch's grandchildren princes William and Harry, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, princesses Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, and Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn, will also attend the ceremony.
As for royals from other countries, King Willem-Alexander, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, and former Queen Beatrix will be present. Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako of Japan, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain and King Philip and Queen Mathilde of Belgium are some of the attendees.
Biden, Murmu to attend
Among world leaders, Britain's foreign office has said that only a single, senior representative from each country and their partner can attend. While US President Joe Biden will attend the ceremony along with First Lady Dr Jill Biden, President Droupadi Murmu will pay tributes to the queen on behalf of India.
Representatives from other nations include French President Emmanuel Macron, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Italian President Sergio Mattarella. Leaders of commonwealth nations include New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese among others.
No invite for Putin
While Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko have not got an invitation, leaders of Myanmar, Syria, Venezuela and Afghanistan have also been excluded from the ceremony. Iran, North Korea and Nicaragua will only be represented at the ambassadorial level while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will not be attending as he hasn't left the country since the war broke out. His wife Olena Zelenska will represent her country.
Though China's Xi Jinping won't attend, the country would be represented by China's Vice President Wang Qishan. Besides these dignitaries, nearly 200 key workers and volunteers recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours list have been invited to attend the funeral.
Buses for world leaders
Interestingly, the UK foreign office has informed the world leaders that they will have to take escorted coaches from a location in west London on the day of the funeral. Helicopters cannot be used for the purpose due to the number of flights operating at this time, according to British media.
