They have also been banned from using helicopters, according to documents obtained by Politico.The Queen’s funeral is set for September 19 at Westminster Abbey in London.
Foreign leaders and their spouses attending Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in London on September 19 have been advised to fly to the UK on commercial flights and are banned from using helicopters, according to documents obtained by Politico.
Read more of this story
The documents from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office were sent from the UK to embassies, the outlet reported. The FCDO anticipates the funeral service will be at capacity, so no more than one representative per country and their spouse will be invited to attend.
The department said it “regrets that, because of limited space at the state funeral service and associated events, no other members of the principal guest’s family, staff or entourage may be admitted.”
The FCDO advised funeral attendees to fly commercial “where possible” because London Heathrow airport will not have private flight arrangements or aircraft parking, despite the airport normally accommodating private jets. The department also banned helicopter transfers between airports because of the volume of flights.
World leaders were also told they will be bussed in groups to the funeral at Westminster Abbey and cannot use their own state cars to attend the service,
One unnamed foreign ambassador sent a message to Politico reporters on WhatsApp on Sunday, saying: “Can you imagine Joe Biden on the bus?”
Comments are closed.