Not Just Trump Who's Missing Out: Putin And These Leaders Also Not Welcome At Queen's Funeral

Former U.S. President Donald Trump is not the only one who would be missing from Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. The U.K. has not extended invitations for the service to six other global political figures, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

What Happened: The guest list for the funeral of the U.K’s longest reigning monarch did not include the heads of state from Russia, Belarus, Myanmar, Venezuela, Syria, and Afghanistan, The New York Times reported.

The decision not to extend an invitation for the royal funeral to Putin and leaders of a few other countries was taken considering the current political climate and the relationship that the U.K. shares with them. Putin has been widely criticized by the U.K. and other western nations for the war in Ukraine, and the decision is no surprise given London’s support for Kyiv. Belarus was also excluded from the list considering its support for Russia. Also, the U.K. shares no bilateral ties with Syria and Venezuela, while Afghanistan and Myanmar were not included after considering the current political situations in those countries.

Not just that, only ambassadorial level invitations were extended to North Korea, Nicaragua, and Iran.

Meanwhile, several world leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, Canada’s Justin Trudeau, France’s Emmanuel Macron, and India’s Droupadi Murmu, have confirmed their attendance at the royal funeral.

Earlier this week, the Westminster Abbey said that only current heads of state, along with their partners, will be given seats to attend the funeral due to limited seats. This put on hold Trump’s plans, who was vying for a seat at the queen’s funeral following the announcement of her death.

Following this, Trump took to Truth Social to share multiple photos of himself with the queen and wrote, “May God bless the Queen, may she reign forever in our hearts, and may God hold her and Prince Philip in abiding care.” His senior advisor also said that the former president had “deep respect,” “admiration,” and “fascination” for Elizabeth. “Biden should include Trump,” he added.

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