Who was at the Queen’s funeral service – and who was not?

Kings and queens, presidents, prime ministers, celebrities and friends from across the globe were among the 2,000 guests at the Queen’s funeral service at Westminster Abbey.

Here’s who was in the abbey, and where they were seated.

Closest to the Queen’s coffin were her four children and their spouses. King Charles III and his wife Camilla, the Queen Consort, sat alongside the Princess Royal and her husband, the Duke of York and the Earl and Countess of Wessex.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex sat directly behind the King while the Prince and Princess of Wales sat across the aisle from them.

All of the Queen’s eight grandchildren sat in the front two rows, days after they stood together in vigil at the lying-in-state. Prince George, nine, and Princess Charlotte, seven, were the Queen’s only great-grandchildren to attend the service.

They were joined by the Queen’s cousins Prince Michael of Kent and the Duke of Kent and their families, as well as the children and grandchildren of the Queen’s late sister Princess Margaret.

Some of the Queen’s god children were there including Princess Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer.

The Queen Consort’s children were invited – Laura Lopes, second from left, and Tom Parker Bowles, far right along.

Some of the Queen’s closest friends were also there, including ladies-in-waiting Lady Susan Hussey and Dame Mary Morrison, right.

Current Prime Minister Liz Truss and her husband Hugh O’Leary were sat alongside other cabinet ministers. All of the UK’s surviving former prime ministers were also seated in the quire of the abbey.

In the middle row was Carrie Johnson, Boris Johnson, Philip May, Theresa May, David Cameron, and Samantha Cameron.

In the front row were Sarah Brown, Gordon Brown, Cherie Blair, Sir Tony Blair, Lady Norma Major and Sir John Major.

All monarchs were invited to the funeral and the vast majority flew to London for it.

Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II – now the only female monarch in the world – sat opposite King Charles close to the coffin.

Other kings and queens from The Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, Norway and Belgium also attended – as did the Grand Duke and Duchess of Luxembourg.

It also marked the first international visit for the Emperor and Empress of Japan since they ascended the throne three years ago.

Malaysia’s King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah and Queen Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah were sat behind King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan.

About 100 presidents and heads of government were thought to have been in the abbey.

US President Mr Biden and his wife Jill Biden sat next to an aisle, 14 rows from the front in the south transept of the abbey, behind the Polish president Andrzej Duda and his wife Agata Kornhauser-Duda.

The president of France, Emmanuel Macron, attended with his wife Brigitte.Mr Macron, who met the Queen three times, had said that she had been “a friend of France, a kind-hearted queen, who has left a lasting impression on her country and her century”.

Other foreign heads of government who were there included Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Israeli President Isaac Herzog and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Representatives from Syria, Venezuela and Afghanistan were not invited. This is because the UK does not have full diplomatic relations with these countries.

No-one from Russia, Belarus and Myanmar has been invited either.

Diplomatic relations between the UK and Russia have all but collapsed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and a spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was “not considering” attending the funeral.

The invasion was launched partially from the territory of Belarus. And the UK has significantly scaled back its diplomatic presence in Myanmar since a military coup last year.

North Korea (DPRK) and Nicaragua have been invited to send only ambassadors, not heads of state.

Human rights groups had criticised the decision to invite Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. The prince has been accused by Western intelligence of ordering the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. Prince Turki al-Faisal, another senior Saudi royal, was expected to attend the funeral instead.

Source: BBC