World leaders assemble for Queen’s funeral

World leaders including US President Joe Biden, President Emmanuel Macron of France and President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, have joined hundreds of other royals, heads of state, and rulers from across the globe for the Queen’s funeral.

Many arrived in buses, having been ferried there from a meeting point in Chelsea, with most waiting in Westminster Abbey for more than an hour before the Queen’s coffin arrived, after it was conveyed there on a gun carriage from Westminster Hall.

Mr Biden arrived at the abbey in his bomb-proof limousine, with his wife Jill, and they were received by the dean of Westminster Abbey.

Mr Biden sat 14 rows back on the south transept behind the Polish leader and in front of the leader of the Czech Republic. The First Lady sat next to the Swiss delegation.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her counterparts from Canada, Justin Trudeau, and Australia, Anthony Albanese, were also seen watching the coffin be brought into Westminster Abbey at the start of the state funeral, the UK’s first since 1965 when Winston Churchill was afforded the honour.

Irish President Michael Higgins, President of the EU Council Charles Michel and Croatia’s president Moran Milanovic were also there, along with the president of Israel Isaac Herzog and his wife Michal Herzog.

China’s Vice President Wang Qishan was also seen in the abbey, attending as the special representative of President Xi Jinping, despite concerns over China’s treatment of the Uyghur people.

Mr Biden didn’t stay long. By 1.30pm, while the Queen’s coffin was still working its way to Windsor, it was announced he had left London.

The positions in the congregation are as follows:

1. Anthony Albanese, prime minister of Australia
2. Brigitte Macron, wife of Emmanuel Macron
3. Emmanuel Macron, president of France
4. Joe Biden, US president
5. Charles Michel, EU Council president
6. Justin Trudeau, prime minister of Canada
7. Michael D Higgins, president of Ireland
8. Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission president
9. Jacinda Ardern, prime minister of New Zealand

World royals

Also present was Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako – the first time the couple had left the country since the pandemic started. Traditionally Japanese emperors stay away from funerals except for their own parents because of cultural beliefs in the Shinto religion that consider death impure.

One of the first royals to arrive was Moroccan Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, who at the age of 19 was representing his father King Mohammed VI.

Many of the other European royal families were also in attendance, with the Netherlands’ King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and Princess Beatrix and Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia among those who joined the congregation.

Among those who attended, as seen in the picture above, were:

1. Margareta of Romania
2. Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess of Greece
3. Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece
4. Princess Charlene of Monaco
5. Prince Albert of Monaco
6. Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg
7. Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg
8. Queen Mathilde of Belgium
9. King Philippe of Belgium
10. King Harald of Norway
11. Queen Sonja of Norway
12. Sofía of Spain
13. Juan Carlos I of Spain
14. Queen Letizia of Spain
15. King Felipe of Spain
16. Beatrix of the Netherlands
17. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands
18. King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands
19. Queen Silvia of Sweden
20. King Carl Gustaf of Sweden
21. Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark

How they all got there

The first foreign leaders had arrived in three coaches that pulled up outside Westminster Abbey containing dozens of figures from countries across the world.

As they got off and went into the abbey, a single bell tolled every minute to mark the 96 years of the Queen’s life.

At around the same time a convoy of black Range Rovers, flanked by police outriders, snaked through central London.

Mr Biden’s car was caught in traffic as the US president made his way to Westminster Abbey.

Footage shared on social media showed the armoured vehicle, nicknamed the Beast, held up outside a Pret a Manger restaurant near Marble Arch, about 2.5km (1.5 miles) from Westminster Abbey, shortly after 8am.

Many of the foreign dignitaries made their way to the Abbey from the Royal Chelsea Hospital, where they had been gathering since about 7.30am.

The leaders attending were among around 500 others from nearly 200 countries and territories.

They included nearly 100 presidents and heads of government, and over 20 royals, according to a Foreign and Commonwealth Office source.

Dignitaries arriving for Queen’s funeral – live updates

The only countries not invited were Russia, Belarus, Myanmar, Syria, Venezuela and Afghanistan.

Iran, North Korea and Nicaragua were due to be represented at ambassadorial level.

The funeral was broadcast live to more than 200 countries and was said to be among the most-watched events in the history of television.

The leaders were among the 2,000 people gathering at Westminster Abbey to remember the Queen.

UK politicians

All of the living former UK prime ministers including Boris Johnson, Theresa May, David Cameron, Gordon Brown, Sir Tony Blair and Sir John Major came in together, shortly before the current PM Liz Truss, who read a lesson.

Ms Truss, who attended with her husband Hugh O’Leary, met leaders including Mr Albanese and Ms Ardern at her temporary country residence at Chevening on Saturday and other leaders in Downing Street on Sunday.

Among the first notable faces to join the congregation were Michael and Carole Middleton, two of the grandparents of the second in line to the throne, Prince George, as well as numerous members of the government and other senior politicians, such as Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and London mayor Sadiq Khan.

Before the arrival of the Royal Family, who followed the coffin as it was brought from Westminster Hall, there was silence in the abbey except for the distant sound of the tenor bell and the footsteps of guests still taking their seats as the start of the service drew close.

Large parts of Chelsea were closed off as the world leaders arrived at the Royal Chelsea Hospital.

With a few exceptions, heads of state, prime ministers and ambassadors arrived at the hospital where they gathered before heading on to the abbey, together in coaches, amid tight security.

Police closed down access to the roads surrounding the hospital, home of the Chelsea Pensioners, some of whom had to walk to Westminster.

Cyclists, joggers and dog walkers were turned away and redirected back towards Sloane Square by police offices from around 7.30am.

An array of cars with blacked out windows and diplomatic number plates then proceeded to arrive, along with police escorts in SUVs, sweeping down Lower Sloane Street to a checkpoint by Turk’s Row.

There was a clear order of attendees, with presidents and prime ministers the first to arrive, followed by foreign royalty and lastly the group from China.

The first guests began arriving at the abbey shortly after 8am, with the first entering through the east gate.

Some dignitaries, including Presidents Macron and Biden had previously joined mourners to see the Queen’s coffin in Westminster Hall.

The operation to keep safe the dignitaries and the hundreds of thousands of members of the public in the capital to see the coffin pass by is one of the biggest security operations ever planned by the Metropolitan Police.

It surpasses the operation for the Platinum Jubilee weekend and the London 2012 Olympics, which saw up to 10,000 police officers on duty each day.