The death of Queen Elizabeth II brought together London to hundreds of heads of state and dignitaries from around the world, who attended a reception this Sunday offered by the new British monarch, Charles III, before the state funeral which will be held on Monday at the abbey of westminster.

The kings of Spain, Felipe VI and Letizia, were among those close to 500 guests at Buckingham Palace, alongside leaders such as the President of the United States, Joe Biden, the Emperors of Japan, Naruto and Masakothe President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the rulers of European royal houses.

The Emeritus Kings of Spain, Juan Carlos I and Sofía, also attended the reception. They entered the palace together. just over half an hour before the arrival of the current Spanish Heads of State.

The British Foreign Office, which is co-ordinating the funeral arrangements for Elizabeth II, organized buses to transport most of the dignitaries to the main events planned these days to facilitate mobility around the center of the British capital.

Biden, along with French President Emmanuel Macron, King Abdullah II of Jordan and other leaders still have government approval to drive around in their own vehicles.

burning chapel

Many leaders invited to the funeral paid homage before the coffin of Elizabeth II, died on September 8 at the age of 96, who remains in a burning chapel in the Palace of Westminster for which thousands of citizens will continue to march until first thing Monday morning.

Felipe VI and Letizia visited the funeral chapel in the afternoon, accompanied by the Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, and the Spanish Ambassador to London, José Pascual Marco.

kings, who They arrived in the British capital in an Army Falcon with Queen Sofia, met at Westminster Hall the King and Queen of Sweden and the Speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, Spanish diplomatic sources have indicated this.

Shortly after, the President of the United States, accompanied by the first lady, also maintained a few minutes of silence in front of the mortal remains of the British sovereign. Biden extolled the “notion of service” that Elizabeth II represented: “We all owe her something”, he underlined.

large scale operation

Foreign officials hand-wrote nearly 1,000 invitations to leaders and representatives of virtually every country in the world, a large-scale diplomatic operation.

Only six countries were omitted from the list: Syria and Venezuela, with whom London has no diplomatic relations; Russia and Belarus, for his involvement in the invasion of Ukraine, as well as Afghanistan and Burma, in the face of the complex political situation they are going through.

states like China, with whom the United Kingdom has strained relations, are represented at the funeral by Elizabeth II. London invited its president, Xi Jinping, and although for days it was unclear whether Beijing would send a high representative, eventually the vice president Wang Qishan traveled to the British capital.

Among the guests at the official reception and funeral at Westminster Abbey is also Olena Zelenska, wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Low profile

Despite the huge gathering of world leaders in London, the British government has insisted in recent days that the London meeting was to pay tribute to Isabella II and wants to keep political messages to a minimum.