The six countries not invited to Queen's funeral - including Russia and Syria
dailyrecord.co.ukSix countries have not received invitations to the Queen's state funeral on Monday September 19. The invitations have been sent to the countries with diplomatic ties to the UK, and whilst most nations have been invited to send their head of state, there are a couple that have not.
No guest list has been published yet, but US President Joe Biden was among the first to declare he will be flying in with his wife Jill.But representatives from Russia, Belarus, Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan and Myanmar have been asked not to attend.North Korea and Nicaragua have been invited only at ambassadorial level, joining Iran in that category.All holders of the Victoria Cross or George Cross will be able to attend the Queen’s funeral, the PA news agency understands.A book of condolence for leaders will be opened at Lancaster House in London, while officials are hand-writing around 1,000 invitations for the King’s reception on Sunday and the funeral service itself, which will go to heads of state and government and other VIPs.The UK does not have diplomatic relations with Syria or Venezuela, while the political situation in Afghanistan since the Taliban swept to power a year ago means no representative has been invited.While most nations can send their leader or appointed delegate plus a guest, the Commonwealth realms, which retain the monarch as head of state, are being granted extra representation.The task of organising the funeral, with representatives from around the world expected, has been compared by Whitehall insiders to organising hundreds of state visits within days - while normally there might only be a couple a year.It presents a huge challenge, with practice runs taking place in the middle of the night.The deadline for
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