By NAN Staff Writer
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Mon. September 12, 2022: Several Caribbean leaders have already indicated they will fly to London on September 19th the funeral of the Queen of England.
So far, leaders from Jamaica, The Turks & Caicos, the Cayman Islands and Trinidad & Tobago have confirmed they will be among the leaders from around the world attending the late Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral at Westminster Abbey in London from 11:00 BST.
The Governor General of Jamaica, Sir Patrick Allen, along with the Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, are expected to attend the state funeral service, as is the President of Trinidad and Tobago, Paula Mae-Weekes.
Although Trinidad and Tobago is a Republic, the country is flying flags at half-mast to mark the Queen’s death.
The governors of Turks & Caicos and the Cayman Islands, as well as the prime ministers, have also said they will attend the late Monarch’s funeral to represent the people of the British Caribbean territories.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves has said he will not attend, but “the government and people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines will be represented at Her Majesty’s funeral.”
The prime minister of the Bahamas has not indicated whether he will attend until today, but the country announced King Charles III as its new head of state during an official ceremony in Parliament Square in the capital, Nassau, on Sunday, as did the BVI, another British Caribbean Territory. .
Other world leaders already confirmed to attend are:
OTHER WORLD LEADERS PRESENTED
– Joe Biden and Jill Biden, President and First Lady of the United States
– Justin Trudeau, Canadian Prime Minister
– Charles Michel, President of the European Council
– Alexander Van der Bellen, President of Austria
– Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand
– Anthony Albanese, Australian Prime Minister
– King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands
– King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain
– Egils Levits, President of Latvia
– Mohammad Shtayyeh, Palestinian Prime Minister
– Sauli Niinisto, President of Finland
– Katalin Novak, Hungarian president
– Michael D Higgins, Irish President and Michael Martin, Irish Prime Minister
– Juan Carlos I, former king of Spain and his wife Sofia
– Gitanas Nauseda, President of Lithuania
– Ranil Wickremesinghe, President of Sri Lanka
– Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of Germany
– Yoon Suk-yeol, president of South Korea
– Jair Bolsonaro, President of Brazil
– King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium
– Andrzej Duda, President of Poland
– Sergio Mattarella, President of Italy
All drivers have been advised to fly commercial. World leaders have also been told they cannot use their state cars to attend the funeral at Westminster Abbey on September 19 – and will instead be bussed en masse from a secret location in west London.
According to the same document, King Charles III will host a reception for all overseas leaders at Buckingham Palace the evening before the funeral service.
Visiting heads of state will be able to attend the Queen’s burial and sign the book of condolence at Lancaster House shortly afterwards. While at Lancaster House, foreign leaders will be able to pay a tribute to the late queen lasting up to three minutes, which will be recorded for the media.
After the funeral service, the foreign leaders will be escorted on foot to Dean’s Yard, still within the abbey grounds, to attend a reception hosted by Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, after which they will return by coach to west London. to get their cars.
