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Daily Record
Daily Record
Politics
Peter Davidson

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman no longer attending Queen's funeral

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will no longer attend the Queen's funeral later today.

Prince Turki bin Mohammed al Saud, who is a minister of state and has been a member of the cabinet since 2018, is expected to attend the funeral in his place.

He is the grandson of late King Fahd and part of the new generation that has been brought to power by Prince Mohammed. The change was made by Saudi Arabia. Britain has invited heads of state from its allies to attend, but it is up to those nations who to send.

Saudi representation at the funeral has been closely watched for any signs of a further thaw in a diplomatic chill Western countries imposed on Prince Mohammed after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi insider-turned-critic, that US intelligence says was approved by the crown prince.

He has denied any role in the killing. In 2020, Saudi Arabia jailed eight people for between seven and 20 years for Khashoggi's murder.

Huge crowds, royalty and other world leaders are attending the funeral at Westminster Abbey. The doors to the Abbey opened at 8am, ahead of the arrival of the first mourners for the funeral of the Queen.

The King's Guards trooped through the gates of Abbey, with two soldiers stationed at the metal gates awaiting the start of proceedings.

A member of the Royal Air Force was the final person in the queue to see the Queen lying in state in Parliament's Westminster Hall.

Chrissy Heerey was the last member of the public into Westminster Hall - her second time around in the queue, after already filing past the coffin earlier during the night.

The public viewing ended shortly before 6.30am as Heerey and Sima Mansouri became the last of the hundreds of thousands of people who have waited for hours to pay their respects.

Heerey said: "I was the last person to pay my respects to the Queen and it felt like a real privilege to do that."

She had queued and got in to see the Queen during the night but then rejoined the line and filed through again.

"I'd already been round once, I went in at 1.15 this morning," Ms Heerey, from Melton Mowbray, said. "It's one of the highlights of my life and I feel very privileged to be here."

Which world leaders are attending the funeral?

  • Australian PM Anthony Albanese
  • Austrian PM Alexander Van der Bellen
  • Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina

  • Belgium's King Philippe and Queen Mathilde
  • Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro
  • Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah

  • Bhutan king Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk

  • Canada PM Justin Trudeau
  • European Council President Charles Michel

  • European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen

  • Finland President Sauli Niinisto
  • French President Emmanuel Macron
  • German President Frank-Walker Steinmeier
  • Hungarian President Katalin Nova
  • Indian President Droupadi Murmu

  • Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin
  • Irish President Michael D Higgins

  • Israeli PM Isaac Herzog
  • Italian President Sergio Mattarella
  • Jordan's King Abdullah

  • Crown Prince of Kuwait Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah

  • King of Lesotho Letsie III

  • Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein

  • Netherlands King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima
  • New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern
  • Latvian President President Egils Levits
  • Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda
  • Palestinian PM Mohammad Shtayyeh
  • Poland's President Andrzej Duda
  • South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol
  • Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia Ortiz
  • Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesingh
  • Trinidad and Tobago President Paula-Mae Weekes
  • Danish, Norwegian and Swedish royal families will also attend

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