As Asian leaders from Malaysia, Singapore to Sri Lanka arrive for Queen Elizabeth’s funeral, analysts see an opportunity for UK to strengthen ‘delicate Commonwealth links’
- Monday’s funeral will bring together leaders from around the world, including Asia, but Russia, Belarus and Myanmar are not invited
- Event may be ‘unexpected chance for dialogue during extreme geopolitical polarisation’ including US-China friction and war in Ukraine, said observer
When the funeral for Britain’s Queen Elizabeth takes place at Westminster Abbey on Monday, a host of world leaders, royals and other dignitaries are expected to attend, in an event likely to be the most-watched in history.
The guest list includes many Western leaders, from US President and First Lady Joe and Jill Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to French President Emmanuel Macron and Australian and New Zealand prime ministers Anthony Albanese and Jacinda Ardern.
Asian royalty who will pay their respects include Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako. It will be the couple’s first overseas trip since Naruhito ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne in 2019.
Geoffrey Miller, an international analyst with the Democracy Project at New Zealand’s Victoria University of Wellington, said the funeral would probably be the most-watched since that of former South African president Nelson Mandela in 2013.
Comparisons are also being drawn with the funeral for Diana, the Princess of Wales, in 1997 and the state funeral for British wartime leader Winston Churchill in 1965, Miller said.
