PM will meet Joe Biden and Justin Trudeau before Queen's state funeral

Liz Truss will hold talks with Joe Biden, Justin Trudeau and the leaders of Ireland, Australia and New Zealand over the weekend before Queen’s state funeral on Monday

• Foreign dignitaries are due to fly into London for the state funeral on Monday
• Liz Truss is expected to hold private talks with several of the leaders attending
• Tories have complained that China should not be invited to the state funeral 
• The Queen’s funeral: All the latest Royal Family news and coverage

Liz Truss is set to meet Joe Biden and other world leaders for private talks before the Queen’s state funeral next week.

The US president is among the senior figures due to fly into London for the ceremony on Monday.

And a number are holding meetings with the PM, who only took charge in Downing Street last Tuesday. 

Tomorrow Ms Truss will meet the premiers of Australia and New Zealand, Anthony Albanese and Jacinda Ardern, at the Chevening country residence.

On Sunday, she will meet Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin, her Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau, Polish President Andrzej Duda and Mr Biden at Downing Street.

As a mark of respect to the former monarch no details or photographs of their discussions will be released, and there will be no press conferences.

US president Joe Biden (left) is among the senior figures due to fly into London for the state funeral on Monday. He will hold talks with Liz Truss (right) on Sunday

On Sunday, Ms Truss will meet Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin, her Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau (pictured), Polish President Andrzej Duda and Mr Biden at Downing Street

China hit back today after the Parliamentary authorities banned its delegation from viewing the Queen’s coffin.

All heads of state visiting London for the funeral on Monday have been invited to pay their respects to the late monarch in Westminster Hall before her funeral.

China’s president Xi Jinping was invited to Monday’s event but is instead sending a delegation led by vice-president Wang Qishan. 

However, House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle has denied a request for the Chinese group to enter the ancient heart of British democracy.

Sir Lindsay has maintained that Chinese state officials should not be able to enter Parliament after sanctioning MPs for condemning human rights abuses against Uighurs. 

The step drew a sharp response from Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning today. Although stressing she had no official information, Mao said that as host the UK should ‘follow the diplomatic protocols and proper manners to receive guests’. 

Asked about Liz Truss’s view on the issue, a No10 spokeswoman said: ‘Admission to Parliament is a matter for Parliament.’ 

French president Emmanuel Macron is also due to be at the funeral, but it is understood he plans to hold talks with Ms Truss on the fringes of the UN general assembly in New York next week. 

The state funeral will see several hundred dignitaries from around the world in London to pay their last respects to the Queen, in what is set to be one of the biggest logistical and diplomatic events in the UK in decades.

They will join members of the royal family, British prime ministers past and present, and key figures from public life at Westminster Abbey – which can hold about 2,000 people – at 11am on Monday.

No guest list has been released yet, but Mr Biden was among the first to declare he will be attending with his wife, Jill.

Mr Albanese announced that he will not be travelling alone, tweeting that at Buckingham Palace’s invitation, he and Governor-General David Hurley will be accompanied by ’10 Australians who have made extraordinary contributions to their communities’.

Germany’s Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Italy’s Sergio Mattarella, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro are among the presidents attending, along with the European Commission’s Ursula von der Leyen.

King Felipe of Spain and his wife, Queen Letizia, are among the European royals who will attend.

Emperor Naruhito of Japan is also expected to travel to London in what would be his first overseas trip since ascending the throne in 2019.

China hit back today after the Parliamentary authorities banned its delegation from viewing the Queen’s coffin.

All heads of state visiting London for the funeral on Monday have been invited to pay their respects to the late monarch in Westminster Hall before her funeral.

China’s president Xi Jinping was invited to Monday’s event but is instead sending a delegation led by vice-president Wang Qishan. 

However, House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle has denied a request for the Chinese group to enter the ancient heart of British democracy.

Sir Lindsay has maintained that Chinese state officials should not be able to enter Parliament after sanctioning MPs for condemning human rights abuses against Uighurs. 

The step drew a sharp response from Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning today. Although stressing she had no official information, Mao said that as host the UK should ‘follow the diplomatic protocols and proper manners to receive guests’. 

Asked about Liz Truss’s view on the issue, a No10 spokeswoman said: ‘Admission to Parliament is a matter for Parliament.’ 

Emmanuel Macron is due to be at the Queen’s state funeral on Monday

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