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Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral is expected to attract many world leaders to London, possibly causing the city or much of it to close before the event.
“Due to the amount of dignitaries flying in, the metropolitan police force is getting to the point where they could end up saying London is closed,” Royal Family expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital.
Queen Elizabeth II with President Biden in the Grand Corridor during their visit to Windsor Castle on 13 June 2021.
(Steve Parsons / WPA Pool / Getty Images)
The Queen’s state funeral is expected to be a massive event, with leaders such as Japanese Emperor Naruhito, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron and Turkish Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attending.
But the list will not include Russian President Vladimir Putin, who according to Fordwich was the only world leader not invited during the Russian invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
QUEEN ELIZABETH II, BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY NET WORTH
President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will also be present. Nile Gardiner, a former foreign policy advisor under Margaret Thatcher, told Fox News Digital that American dignitaries are likely to be a visible presence.
Finnish President Sauli Niinisto attends a press conference on Finland’s security policy decisions at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland on May 15, 2022.
(Heikki Saukkomaa / Lehtiuva via AP)
“The seating arrangement was very closely guarded by the building,” Gardiner said. “I obviously expect the President of the United States to be in a very important position near the front, as the United States is Britain’s closest friend and ally.”
Other foreign leaders who have announced plans to attend include Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Belgian King Philip and Queen Mathilde, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Hungarian President Katalin Novák, Irish President Michael Higgins, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Prime Minister of Jamaica Andrew Holness, King of the Netherlands William Alexander and Queen Máxima, Prime Minister of New Guinea James Marape, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Latvian President Egils Levits, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, Polish President Andrzej Duda, Portugal President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, the Spanish king Felipe VI and Queen Letizia Ortiz, the pr Sri Lankan Ranil Wickremesinghe, King George Tupou VI and Trinidad of Tonga and Tobago President Paula-Mae Weekes.
Some foreign leaders are expected to send high-ranking officials to represent their country. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced Monday that the country would send Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard to the funeral.
With such a tight seating arrangement, each country is allowed one representative and one guest, which means no former presidents and prime ministers should be present.
While Gardiner expects security to be tight, he doesn’t believe all of London will be closed.
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden.
(Photo AP / Manuel Balce Ceneta)
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“Large parts of central London will be closed to vehicles and the area around Westminster will be largely closed … so the heart of the city around Westminster will be closed to all vehicles,” Gardiner said. “I expect the public will be able to walk around it for the most part … but you won’t see the whole of London closed.”
