The Queen’s funeral is going to be an official event, the likes which the world has not seen in recent history. Dignitaries and diplomats from all over the world will be coming over to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth. The Queen had met with several Presidents of the United States over her long reign. The first US President the Queen met was Harry Truman and the last was Joe Biden who she met just last year. According to reports, current President of the United States Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden have received invited to the Queen’s funeral in London but such an invite has not been extended to Donald Trump.
Apart from Trump, even former living Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and George W Bush did not receive invited to the Queen’s funeral in London. Instead, these men received invites from the British Government to attend a vigil in Washington DC. “We are following convention as you’d expect and have invited all former Presidents as well as President and Dr. Biden and other members of the Administration,’ a British embassy spokesperson said to the media.
The reason they have not extended invites for the state funeral in London to former Presidents is suspected to be because of the maximum capacity of Westminister Abbey which is around 2200 people. The 2200 guest list also includes 200 everyday heroes which include NHS staff who performed their duties during the Covid-19 outbreak with the utmost dedication. According to reports, the former Presidents have been extended an invite to a special service of thanksgiving at Washington’s National Cathedral on Wednesday.
The invite described the event as a ‘Service of Thanksgiving for the Life of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’. The event will reportedly feature the honor guard from the Queen’s Colour Squadron. The Right Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde, the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington will likely be presiding over the service. None of the former Presidents have commented on whether they will be attending the memorial service for Queen Elizabeth in Washington D.C.
