Donald Trump 'will NOT receive an invite to Queen's funeral'

Donald Trump ‘will NOT receive an invite to Queen’s funeral’ with spaces at the ceremony limited to one representative per country and their significant other

• Invites are being extended to world leaders and their significant others
• Joe and Jill Biden are expected to attend the service at Westminster Abbey
• Donald Trump has spoken fondly of the Queen but is not expected to be invited 
• Full coverage: Click here to see all our coverage of the Queen’s passing

Donald Trump will not receive an invitation to the Queen’s funeral next week, leaked documents suggest.

The former US president has often spoken of his deep and personal admiration for the late monarch.

But he is not expected to be among the mourners at next Monday’s service with numbers limited due to the packed congregation.

Only current heads of state and their spouses or partners will be invited, meaning Joe and Jill Biden will be among those paying their respects in Westminster Abbey.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said the abbey will be so packed that it would be impossible to offer more invitations, according to documents seen by Politico. 

Donald Trump will not receive an invitation to the Queen’s funeral next week, leaked documents have claimed

Only current heads of state and their spouses or partners will be invited, meaning Joe and Jill Biden will be among those paying their respects in Westminster Abbey

The guidelines sent to embassies on Saturday night said the department ‘regrets that, because of limited space at the state funeral service and associated events, no other members of the principal guest’s family, staff or entourage may be admitted.’

Heads of state that cannot attend are able to choose someone else as their official representative in their stead.

Biden said on Friday he intended to travel to London for the funeral, despite serving presidents not attending the last two state funerals for Winston Churchill and George VI. 

Questions had been raised about whether Trump, who paid tribute to the Queen on Saturday, writing for DailyMail.com that meeting her was ‘the most extraordinary honor of my life’, would attend the service.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania were welcomed for a full state visit by Queen Elizabeth II in 2019. It was Trump’s second visit to the UK as president

Trump met the Queen twice as president, first at Windsor Castle for tea in 2018 and then during a full state visit the following year.

He spoke often of the way his Scottish-born mother loved the Royals and the Queen in particular.

And he made clear that the two visits to the United Kingdom were among the highlights of his time as president.

After his first meeting, when he inspected the guard and took tea with the monarch, he said they had got along famously.

‘We then go up and we have tea. And I didn’t know this – it was supposed to last 15 minutes but it lasted like an hour,’ he said.

‘Because we got along. And she liked our first lady and our first lady liked her.

‘But we got along fantastically well. But the time went by – you know, sometimes you get along and the time goes by.’

Many other leaders have also signalled their intention to attend the funeral, including Jacinda Ardern, Justin Trudeau and Anthony Albanese. 

King Charles III will also host a reception for the world leaders at Buckingham Palace on Sunday evening.

President Donald Trump with Queen Elizabeth II after praising her as a ‘great, great woman’ during a state banquet at Buckingham Palace in 2019

Trump used his Truth Social platform to deliver his tribute on Thursday afternoon

The visitors will be able to attend the lying-in-state of the queen’s body and sign the condolence book at Lancaster House.

On the day of the funeral, they will travel to Westminster Abbey in escorted coaches from west London where they will have to leave their own cars because of security and road restrictions. 

According to the document, world leaders have also been urged to travel on commercial flights and have been told they cannot use helicopters to travel around the UK. 

The FCDO urged commercial travel ‘where possible’, Politico said. 

‘Multiple and comprehensive layers of security will be in place across London and at all the official venues used for the state funeral and associated events,’ according to a FCDO document seen by Politico. 

Meanwhile, the use of helicopter transfers between airports and venues has been prohibited ‘due to the number of flights operating at this time’, it was reported. 

Politico said that the document also set out some of the engagements for heads of state surrounding the funeral. 

Heads of state from around the world will gather at Westminster Abbey (pictured) for Her Majesty’s funeral next week 

This includes receptions hosted by the King and the new Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, an offer to visit the Queen’s body when it is lying in state and to sign a book of condolence at Lancaster House. 

It reported that foreign leaders will be invited to deliver a tribute to the Queen while at Lancaster House, but it can only last up to three minutes. 

And ‘because of the extensive ceremonial programme related to the state funeral and the logistical challenges, requests for bilaterals will not be considered on this occasion,’ according to the leaked document. 

The FCDO has been approached for comment.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II died at her summer home in Balmoral, Scotland, on Thursday at the age of 96, prompting an outpouring of grief in the UK and around the world.

Tens of thousands of people gathered in the streets of Edinburgh today to witness Her Majesty being transported to the Palace of Holyroodhouse

The Queen passed away at Balmoral Castle on Thursday, September 8, at the age of 96

Her eldest son, Charles, was proclaimed as king yesterday, while today her coffin was moved from Balmoral to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. 

Tens of thousands of people lined the streets of the Scottish capital as her cortege arrived, while family members such as Prince Andrew, Princess Anne and the Earl and Countess of Wessex were present as it drove into the city. 

They gave her a guard of honour, along with the King’s Bodyguard for Scotland (Royal Company of Archers), as she was carried into the royal palace.

She will rest overnight in Edinburgh before she is carried to St Giles Cathedral in the city in the afternoon, during which she will be accompanied by the King and other family members. 

Her body will then lie in rest in the cathedral for until Tuesday, when it will be flown to RAF Northolt by a military plane. She will be accompanied by Princess Anne on this journey. 

On Wednesday afternoon Her Majesty’s body will travel in a public procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, where the coffin will be placed on a raised platform and topped with the Imperial State Crown, orb and sceptre. 

It will be guarded 24-hours-a-day by soldiers and for the next four days will lie in state until the morning of her funeral on Monday, September 19. 

The coffin will then be taken by procession to Westminster Abbey for her funeral service which is expected to see heads of state from around the world attend. 

After this service she will then be taken in a hearse to St George’s Chapel in Windsor Chapel, where a committal service will take place.

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