Britain’s longest serving monarch was finally being laid to rest 11 days after she died at Balmoral Castle at the age of 96. The queen was given a state funeral, the 1st in the UK since 1965 following the death of wartime Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill. The event was attended by around 2000 guests including kings, queens, presidents, prime ministers and celebrities.
The hundreds of global dignitaries who were among the congregation paying their final respects to the queen were the royal family led by King Charles III and queen consort Camilla, the current and the former UK Prime ministers, Lizz Truss, her husband Hugh O’Leary and surviving Prime Ministers seated in the quire of the Abby.
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Among the heads of governments in attendance at the mass which was held at Westminster Abby were the US President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden. France President Emmanuel Macron, German President Frank Walter Steinmeier, Secretary General NATO Jens Stoltenberg and President Sergio Martella of Italy.
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The heads of states from Africa in attendance were William Ruto of Kenya and Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa. From the middle East were Isaac Herzog of Israel and Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh.
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Representatives from Russia, Afghanistan, Belarus, Myanmar, Venezuela and Syria were not invited. The UK sought to isolate Russia due to the decision to invade Ukraine and Belarus for supporting the war and assisting Russia to launch the attack.
Afghanistan, Myanmar, Syria and Venezuela have no diplomatic relations with the UK hence were not invited. Representatives of Iran and North Korea were invited at the ambassadorial level due to the tense relationship between Supreme leaders Ali Khamenei and Kim Jong-Un. Saudi Arabian crown prince Mohammed bin Salman did not attend.