President Joe Biden has confirmed that he will be attending the funeral for Queen Elizabeth II after she died at the age of 96.
When asked by reporters in Ohio on Friday whether he planned to attend the funeral, Biden replied: “Yes. I don’t know what the details are yet but I will be going.”
The monarch, who celebrated her 70th year on the throne this year, passed away on 8 September at Balmoral Castle.
All of her children, as well as her grandchildren Prince William and Prince Harry, travelled to Balmoral on the day of her death.
A statement released by Buckingham Palace said: “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.”
The palace has yet to announce the official plans for the funeral, but it will likely take place in 10 days’ time at Westminster Abbey.
There will be processions both in London and Windsor, with a committal service taking place at St George’s Chapel. A nationwide two-minute silence at midday will also take place.
The Queen’s funeral will likely be attended by a large number of guests, including her family, other political leaders, monarchs from other countries, and mourners.
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall will be in attendance, as well as the Princess Royal, the Duke of York, and the Earl and Countess of Wessex.
Her grandchildren, Prince William and Prince Harry, Peter Philips and Zara Tindall, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, and Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn, will also be present at the ceremony.
The Queen’s cousins will likely be there, including the Duke of Kent, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, Princess Alexandra, and Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester.
The UK’s new prime minister Liz Truss is expected to attend, as well as Labour party leader Keir Starmer.
Many world leaders are likely to be in attendance as well, including Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who told reporters on Friday that he had met the Queen twice at Buckingham Palace.
“If we find the opportunity we would like to be present at this ceremony,” he said, according to The Guardian.
Members of Europe’s royal families, from countries including Spain, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands, will reportedly travel to London for the funeral as well.
In addition, the Queen’s ladies-in-waiting and her closest staff will likely be there.
The Queen’s funeral is expected to take place without any Covid restrictions, unlike the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral on 17 April 2021.
Prince Philip died on 9 April 2021 at the age of 99 and his funeral took place when coronavirus restrictions were still in place in England.
Due to the virus measures, only 30 mourners were allowed to attend the ceremony, including the Queen and other members of the royal family.
But the Duke’s memorial service, which was held almost a full year later in March 2022, saw 1,800 guests attending the event at Westminster Abbey.
The guest list included members of royal families from Spain, the Netherlands, Monaco, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, and Greece. These members will likely be in attendance at the Queen’s funeral to pay their respects to the longest-reigning monarch in the world.
