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Irish Mirror

National

Nigel Nelson & Michelle Cullen

Who is attending the Queen's funeral - Irish interest to world leaders and selected celebrities

Queen Elizabeth II Jill Biden Joe Biden Albert II Anthony Albanese David Attenborough Emmanuel Macron Felipe VI FrankWalter Steinmeier Jacinda Ardern

Preparations are underway ahead of Queen Elizabeth's funeral, which will take place later today.

World leaders have descended on London to pay their respects to the late monarch as Britain takes on its largest security operation in history.

Among those attending on behalf of Ireland will be President Michael D Higgins and Taoiseach Micheal Martin.

This is highly unusual as both the President and the Taoiseach will be out of the country at the same time for an event.

US president Joe Biden and Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako will also be attending the funeral and over 100 royals, heads of state and diplomats.

Mr Biden landed in the UK on Air Force One with the First Lady, Jill Biden, shortly after 5pm on Saturday.

While New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern and her Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese have also flown in for the ceremony.

The funeral is expected to pose a significant security challenge as crowds of up to two million are expected to gather.

As well as the 10,000 uniformed officers on duty, snipers will be stationed on rooftops, and drones will provide security chiefs with constant visual updates.

Every lamppost on the route has also been examined and sealed, and people known to have potentially dangerous royal obsessions are being monitored by a special team.

Several foreign royalty have also flown in to pay their respects, including Spain's King Felipe and Queen Letizia, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway and Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco.

The Queen's grandchildren walk in formation towards her coffin (Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)

Royals from Greece, Sweden, Denmark and Belgium will also be there.

The six surviving former British PMs who served under the Queen will attend, along with Ms Truss.

While European leaders in attendance will include French president Emmanuel Macron, German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Italian president Sergio Mattarella and Finland's Sauli Niinistö, and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Charles Michel.

However, the security operation has been launched into some difficulty after a row over a "two-tier system" for VIP's official vehicles was sparked as Mr Biden was allowed his armoured limo and Israel's Isaac Herzog was also exempted.

Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky's wife Olena is also set to be there – while neither Russia nor Belarus has been invited.

The military regime of Myanmar , accused over deaths of democracy campaigners, has also been left out, while Iran will have only an ambassador.

The nation has been mourning the loss of the Queen (PA)

Westminster Abbey could not fit all the heads of state the Queen met in her lifetime, so former US presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump were also not invited.

But Royal Family favourite Sir David Attenborough, born 17 days after the Queen and producer of several of her Christmas speeches, will join mourners in the Abbey.

The Queen's racing advisor John Warren, who spent the weekend at Balmoral days before her death, will also be there.

He said: "We sat for hours strategising, making plans. She was in such a healthy state of mind and in tremendous form.

"She really loved to talk about her horses, right to the very end."

The 2,000 guests will include delegates picked from across the Commonwealth. The Maori king, Kiingi Tuheitia, will be among New Zealand's delegation, while Canada selected Killing Eve star, Sandra Oh. The doors to Westminster Abbey will open at 8am, three hours before the service. Her Majesty's coffin will leave Westminster Hall at 10.35am.

The State gun carriage will bear her casket, drawn by 98 Royal Navy sailors in a tradition dating back to the funeral of Queen Victoria.

Jane Pavey, one of nine embroiderers who have worked on the clerics' ceremonial robes for three years, said: "They'll look splendid. We'll certainly do the Queen proud."