Hundreds of foreign dignitaries and members of the royal family are expected in London on Monday for the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, a struggle in terms of security and diplomacy between the privileges granted to some and controversial guests, writes AFP.

Because Westminster Abbey can only hold about 2,000 people, only heads of state and one or two guests from each country were invited to the first state funeral in Great Britain since 1965.

Crowned heads

Numerous crowned persons have confirmed their presence at the funeral of the Queen, who ruled for more than 70 years.

Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako will arrive on their first foreign trip since ascending to the throne in 2019.

Prince Albert II of Monaco, his wife Charlene, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, Queen Maxima and Princess Beatrix, King Philippe of Belgium and King Harald V of Norway will attend, as will Queen Margrethe of Denmark, who is currently Europe’s only sitting queen.

Spain’s King Felipe VI will attend, as will his father Juan Carlos I, who abdicated in 2014 and now lives in exile in the United Arab Emirates.

Everyone on the bus

After arriving in London on Saturday evening, US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden paid their respects to him on Sunday afternoon in front of the sovereign’s coffin

Unlike other leaders, who were asked to come to the hearse in buses chartered by the authorities, Joe Biden was allowed to use his armored presidential limousine “The Beast”.

“Can we remember the official at the Elysée Palace who had to tell the Frenchman Emmanuel that he would have to get on a bus in London?” joked the Times on Sunday.

The French president, who will indeed attend, is reported to have said no to the bus, but it is unclear what arrangements were made. On Saturday, he arrived on foot at the Palace of Westminster, where the casket was on display, wearing sunglasses and black trainers, prompting outraged comments from the tabloids.

Another difficulty is the accommodation of guests, the Times notes: it is necessary to “avoid any risk of anyone feeling offended by being placed behind a pillar, and to ensure that no one is in the way.”

Controversial guests

Apart from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel, who made the trip despite post-Brexit tensions, the guests include some controversial figures.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will be present. There are still doubts about the presence of Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), marginalized on the international stage after the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Turkey in 2018.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will be absent, but his Vice President Wang Qishan will attend the funeral. The latter was able to pay his respects on Saturday afternoon in front of the sovereign’s coffin, although some MPs tried to ban any Chinese delegation.

The reason for their anger was China’s sanctions against British MPs who criticized the human rights situation.

They are not invited

Russia and Belarus are among a small group of countries banned from attending the queen’s funeral following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, a ban Moscow considers “blasphemous” and “immoral”.

However, while the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, will also be gone, his wife Olena Zelenska will bow to the tomb of Elizabeth II on Sunday.

Burma, a former British colony ruled by a London-sanctioned military junta, was also excluded, as were Syria, Afghanistan and North Korea.