US President Joe Biden on Monday joined a long line of world leaders for Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral inside London’s Westminster Abbey, where the royals are on full display to pay tribute to a monarch whose rule lasted seven decades.
World leaders, dignitaries, politicians, public figures and European royalty are among the 2,000 expected attendees.
The service is conducted by the Reverend David Hoyle, the Dean of Westminster, in Westminster Abbey. UK Prime Minister Liz Truss and Patricia Scotland, the Commonwealth Secretary General, will deliver lectures. The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will deliver a homily. Towards the end of the service, the Last Post will be played before a two minute silence is observed. The state funeral will be concluded by the Queen’s Piper, who at noon (7 a.m. ET) will play a Reveille, the National Anthem and a Lament.
Invitations were sent over the weekend to heads of state with whom the UK has diplomatic relations. The list of leaders attending the state funeral is long and includes leadership across the Commonwealth and around the world. Representatives of Syria, Russia, Belarus, Myanmar, Afghanistan and Venezuela will be absent. For most invitational nations, membership extends to the head of state plus one guest.
After the state funeral on Monday, the coffin will be moved from the hall to Wellington Arch before making its final journey from London to Windsor. The Queen’s journey will end at St George’s Chapel, in the grounds of Windsor Castle, where her coffin will be lowered into the Royal Vault below the chapel.
Biden was one of the few world leaders to arrive in his own motorcade at the Queen’s funeral on Monday, but over the past 10 days, his aides have worked behind the scenes to ensure he had as small a footprint as possible while she lay in state.
A person familiar with the planning said the White House was very conscious of not making the trip for Biden, scrutinizing protocol in recent days to avoid any mistakes that could potentially distract from the funeral itself. Biden traveled with a smaller staff than is typical for a foreign visit, and his aides decided not to schedule even an informal meeting with Truss while he was in London.
Instead, the only events on Biden’s schedule were those planned in coordination with the palace, the person said.
Monday’s ceremonies are the culmination of almost two weeks of public arrangements, code-named “Operation London Bridge”.
Plans for the Queen’s funeral have been in place for years, allowing American advisers greater insight into exactly what will happen in the coming days as they make security arrangements. The White House said it received an invitation only for the President and First Lady, leading to a slimmed-down American footprint.
Security in the British capital is at its highest level in memory as dozens of world leaders gathered over the weekend and Monday to remember the late queen, who met 13 sitting US presidents during her reign.
In an interview with Sky News last week, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said of the scale: “If you think about the London Marathon, the carnival, previous royal weddings, the Olympics – it’s all of that in one.”
Biden is scheduled to return to Washington Monday afternoon after the funeral. During their brief visit to London, the President and First Lady Jill Biden paid their respects to the Queen as she lay in state, signed books of condolence and attended a reception with other leaders and King Charles III.
The funeral will take place the same week world leaders are set to convene for the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where Biden will hold his first bilateral meeting with Truss on Wednesday.
This story has been updated with additional developments and reports.
