Reception with the KING
World leaders, foreign royals in historic get-together
King Charles III will host world leaders and foreign royals at Buckingham Palace on the eve of the Queen’s funeral in one of the largest official state receptions in living memory.
Presidents and prime ministers from across the globe will arrive in London during the weekend, ready to pay their respects to the late Queen.
Every country that has diplomatic ties to Britain, bar a handful including Russia and Belarus, has been invited to send a representative, while kings and queens from the Netherlands, Norway and Spain will be among the royals in attendance.
On Monday, they will rub shoulders at a grand reception at Buckingham Palace, where they will be formally welcomed by the King.
Palace aides have not confirmed how many will attend but the scale of the funeral operation means leaders will gather in numbers not seen for a generation.
All “working members” of the royal family are expected to attend, leaving questions over the presence of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Prince Andrew.
The Prince and Princess of Wales will be on hand to accept condolences, as will the Princess Royal and the Earl and Countess of Wessex.
Guests include ambassadors from North Korea and Iran as well as Empress Masako of Japan, who will accompany Emperor Naruhito, despite largely retreating from public life two decades ago.
Visiting world leaders and monarchs will also be given the opportunity to view the Queen’s coffin as it lies in state at Westminster Hall.
There will be “no disruption” to the public viewing, sources insisted, revealing they would be facilitated alongside the public queue in time slots spread out until Monday.
It raises the prospect that some of those who have been queuing for hours to see the coffin might find themselves paying their respects at the same time as presidents such as Joe Biden of the US or France’s Emanuel Macron.
The King’s reception on the eve of the funeral will be a muted affair due to the solemnity of the occasion, with guests asked to wear morning dress, with no hats or decorations.
They will gather in the picture gallery and state apartments about 6pm, when drinks and canapes will be served.
Such an event at any other time would see guests dressed in white tie, with royals donning tiaras, Garter sashes, and strings of diamonds and pearls.
Guests walking along the redcarpeted corridor in pairs will be announced on arrival.
The funeral has been described as “the biggest international event” the UK has hosted in decades and one of the largest diplomatic moments of the century.
Foreign office officials are said to have handwritten about 1000 invitations for both the service and the King’s reception at the palace.
For most countries, that means the head of state plus one guest.
The letters were addressed to the leaders of nearly every country in the world apart from Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, Russia, Belarus, and
Myanmar. Syria and Venezuela have not been invited because Britain does not have diplomatic relations with those countries.
Afghanistan was not invited due to the current political situation, a source said.
Russia and Belarus are not being invited to send representatives because of the invasion of Ukraine.
A decision to invite Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, sparked a backlash from Tory MPs who were sanctioned by Beijing last year in response to similar moves by the UK over the treatment of the Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.
President Xi is not expected to attend but will send a delegation headed by vice-president Wang Qishan.
Distinguished guests will initially gather for the funeral at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, before travelling to Westminster Abbey together by coach.
Among the royals expected to attend are King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway and Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco.
Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia are travelling to London, while former king and queen Juan Carlos and Sofa have been invited.
Royal representatives will also be sent from countries including Sweden, Denmark, Belgium and Greece
Tomorrow, the King and Queen Consort will attend a lunch for governors general before His Majesty meets prime ministers of Commonwealth realms at Buckingham Palace.