Biden will be there. Putin will not. The funeral guest list is coming together.
By Cora Engelbrecht
Presidents, princes and prime ministers from across the globe are expected to travel to London next week to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II, who, at her death, had become history’s second-longest reigning monarch.
President Joe Biden is among the leaders who have already announced their plans. “I don’t know what the details are yet, but I will be going,” he told reporters after a speech in Ohio on Friday.
Many leaders from the Commonwealth, a voluntary association of 56 countries, are expected to attend. Among those likely to make the trip are President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who referred to the queen Monday as “our sovereign, our head of state.”
Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters Friday that he would like to attend the funeral if his schedule allows. And Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro said he had accepted an invitation to pay his respects.
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, will also make the trip. “She meant so much to so many and, on a personal note, has been an inspiration throughout my life,” she said in a statement. The leaders of other European countries, such as Germany and Italy, will also attend.
Members of the royal families of several European countries, including Belgium, Brussels and the Netherlands, have confirmed that they will travel to pay their respects.
President Vladimir Putin of Russia will not be there, according to Dmitry S. Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson.
According to Tass, the official Russian news service, Peskov told a news briefing Sunday that the Kremlin had not decided who would represent Russia at the ceremony.