Mourners pay respects to ‘the queen of queens’ North Korea invited to send rep to funeral
ceremonial uniforms in a solemn procession on Wednesday afternoon.
King Charles III, his sons, Princes William and Harry, and other senior royals walked behind — the two princes united in grief despite a rift between them. Harry marks his 38th birthday today.
William and his wife, Kate, will travel to the royal residence of Sandringham today to view floral tributes left there by members of the public.
The ceremonial procession on the day of the Queen’s funeral is likely to be one of the biggest the country has ever witnessed and
LONDON: Britain is inviting a representative from North Korea to attend the Queen’s funeral on Monday, but Afghanistan, Syria and Venezuela will not be given an invitation, a foreign office source said yesterday.
The Queen’s funeral will take place in London on September 19, and a host of world leaders, royalty and other dignitaries have already said they will attend.
The invitation for communist North Korea would be at an ambassadorial level, the source said. This means North Korean leader Kim Jongun will not attend.
Pyongyang has an embassy in West London.
Syria and Venezuela would not be invited because Britain does not currently have diplomatic relations with those states. Afghanistan was not invited due to the current political situation, the source said.
They join Russia, Myanmar and Belarus in not being asked to attend.
Foreign dignitaries who do come to Britain will also be invited to visit the Queen's Lying in State inside Parliament's Westminster Hall ahead of the funeral.
Funeral invitations are being sent to all holders of Britain's highest military honour, the Victoria Cross, and the George Cross, which can also be held by civilians.
In total, foreign office officials have handwritten about 1000 invitations for Monday's funeral and a reception with King Charles the day before. The deadline to accept funeral invitations is today, after which officials will finalise the seating plan. — Reuters
will pose a huge security challenge.
US President Joe Biden, who has said he will be there, spoke to the new king yesterday and ‘‘conveyed the great admiration of the American people for the Queen’’, the White House said.
The Times newspaper reported British Prime Minister Liz Truss was expected to hold oneonone talks with Biden and other world leaders on the sidelines of the funeral, but officials have said any such meetings will be informal. — Reuters