London – Archyde.com
Britain will invite a North Korean representative to Queen Elizabeth’s funeral next Monday, but will not send invitations to Afghanistan, Syria and Venezuela, a British Foreign Office source said on Wednesday.
Queen Elizabeth’s funeral will be held in London on September 19, and a number of world leaders and other dignitaries have already announced that they will attend.
The source added that the invitation to North Korea will be at the ambassadorial level. This means that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will not be in the audience. And Pyongyang has an embassy in west London.
Syria and Venezuela will not be invited because Britain does not have diplomatic relations with them currently, while the source said: Afghanistan was not invited because of the current political situation there. These countries were joined by Russia, Myanmar and Belarus, which were not invited to the funeral.
Foreign dignitaries who come to Britain will also be invited to see the casket in Westminster Hall before the funeral.
Invitations to attend the funeral are sent to all holders of Britain’s highest military honor, the “Victoria Cross” and “George’s Cross”, which civilians can also wear.
In all, State Department officials handwritten regarding 1,000 invitations to the funeral on Monday and a reception with King Charles on Sunday. The deadline for accepting the funeral invitations expires tomorrow, following which the officials put the final touches regarding the seating locations of the attendees.
