Former president Donald Trump has been invited by the British government to a memorial service for Queen Elizabeth II in Washington DC, after being left out of the guest list for the funeral in London.
An invitation to the event describes it as “a Service of Thanksgiving for the Life of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” reported The Telegraph.
Invitations to Mr Trump and other living ex-presidents, including Barrack Obama, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton and their spouses, were sent out on Thursday.
The service will take place at Washington’s National Cathedral on Wednesday.
The venue has earlier hosted state funerals for four former US presidents – Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford and George HW Bush – as well as a number of memorial services.
It can hold around 1,700 people and is expected to be filled to capacity for the event.
The report added that prime minister Liz Truss will be unlikely to be able to attend the Cathedral service in Washington.
Organised by the British embassy in Washington, the service is expected to include dignitaries including senior members of the US Congress as well as all foreign ambassadors.
Earlier this week, president Joe Biden accepted the invitation to the Queen’s funeral in London.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the invitation was transmitted on Saturday as a diplomatic note from the protocol directorate of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, with Mr Biden accepting it a day later.
“The invitation was extended to the US government for the President and the First Lady only,” she said.
Following the announcement of the Queen’s death, Mr Trump, who was invited for a state visit to the UK in 2019, took to Truth Social to praise her.
“Melania and I are deeply saddened to learn of the loss of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Together with our family and fellow Americans, we send our sincere condolences to the Royal Family and the people of the United Kingdom during this time of great sorrow and grief,” he wrote.
“Melania and I will always cherish our time together with the Queen, and never forget Her Majesty’s generous friendship, great wisdom, and wonderful sense of humor. What a grand and beautiful lady she was—there was nobody like her!”
