List of guests at the state funeral of Elizabeth II facts for kids

The state funeral for Elizabeth II, who was Queen of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms, was a huge event. Many important people from all over the world came to say goodbye. It was one of the biggest gatherings of world leaders ever! They all attended a special service at Westminster Abbey on 19 September 2022. Besides leaders, some of the Queen's family, friends, government ministers, religious leaders, and people who worked for her or helped their communities were also there.

To make sure everyone who wanted to attend could, the UK government asked each country to send only two official representatives. About 500 heads of state and other important foreign guests were at the funeral. In total, 2,000 people attended the ceremony. Representatives from 168 countries confirmed they would be there. This included 18 kings and queens, 55 presidents, and 25 prime ministers.

Countries that sent at least one person to Queen Elizabeth II's funeral on September 19, 2022.

The Royal Family and Relatives

This section lists members of the Queen's family who attended the funeral. Some family members marked with an asterisk (*) were only at the private committal service at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

The late Queen's children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren:

Members of the Queen's family attended her funeral.

• The King and Queen Consort, the late Queen's son and his wife
  • The Prince and Princess of Wales, the late Queen's grandson and his wife
    • Prince George of Wales, the late Queen's great-grandson
    • Princess Charlotte of Wales, the late Queen's great-granddaughter
  • The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the late Queen's grandson and his wife
• The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, the late Queen's daughter and her husband
  • Peter Phillips, the late Queen's grandson
    • Savannah Phillips, the late Queen's great-granddaughter*
    • Isla Phillips, the late Queen's great-granddaughter*
  • Zara and Michael Tindall, the late Queen's granddaughter and her husband
    • Mia Tindall, the late Queen's great-granddaughter*
• The Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York, the late Queen's son and his former wife
  • Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, the late Queen's granddaughter and her husband
  • Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, the late Queen's granddaughter and her husband
• The Earl and Countess of Wessex and Forfar, the late Queen's son and his wife
  • Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, the late Queen's granddaughter
  • Viscount Severn, the late Queen's grandson

Other close relatives:

• The Earl of Snowdon, the late Queen's nephew
• Lady Sarah and Daniel Chatto, the late Queen's niece and her husband
• The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the late Queen's first cousin and his wife
• The Duke of Kent, the late Queen's first cousin
• Princess Alexandra, The Hon. Lady Ogilvy, the late Queen's first cousin
• Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, the late Queen's first cousin and his wife
• Lady Pamela Hicks, the late Queen's third cousin

Other Family Members Attending

• Captain Mark Phillips, former husband of the Princess Royal*
• The Earl and Countess Spencer*, the late Queen's Godson and his wife
• Andrew Parker Bowles, former husband of the Queen Consort*
  • Tom Parker Bowles, Godson of the King and son of the Queen Consort
  • Laura and Harry Lopes, daughter and son-in-law of the Queen Consort
• Annabel and Simon Elliot, sister and brother-in-law of the Queen Consort
• Michael and Carole Middleton, parents of the Princess of Wales

Leaders from the United Kingdom

Many important people from the UK government and public life attended the funeral.

Prime Ministers and Speakers

The current British Prime Minister, Liz Truss (top), and six former Prime Ministers attended the funeral.

The current and past Prime Ministers were at both the main funeral service and the committal service.

• Liz Truss, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and her husband Hugh O'Leary
• Sir John Major, former Prime Minister (1990–1997), and Dame Norma, Lady Major
• Sir Tony Blair, former Prime Minister (1997–2007), and Cherie, Lady Blair
• Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister (2007–2010), and Sarah Brown
• David Cameron, former Prime Minister (2010–2016), and Samantha Cameron
• Theresa, Lady May, former Prime Minister (2016–2019), and Sir Philip May
• Boris Johnson, former Prime Minister (2019–2022), and Carrie Johnson
• Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the House of Commons
• The Lord McFall of Alcluith, Lord Speaker

Important Government Officials

Many top government officials, including members of the Cabinet, were present.

• Thérèse Coffey, Deputy Prime Minister
• Kwasi Kwarteng, Chancellor of the Exchequer (in charge of the country's money)
• James Cleverly, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
• Suella Braverman, Secretary of State for the Home Department (in charge of internal affairs)
• Ben Wallace, Secretary of State for Defence
• Penny Mordaunt, Leader of the House of Commons

Leaders of UK Political Parties

Leaders from different political parties across the UK also attended.

• Sir Keir Starmer, Leader of the Labour Party (the main opposition party)
• Sir Ed Davey, Leader of the Liberal Democrats
• Ian Blackford, Leader of the Scottish National Party in the House of Commons
• Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party

Leaders of Devolved Governments

Leaders from Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland were present.

• Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland
• Mark Drakeford, First Minister of Wales
• Michelle O'Neill, First Minister-designate of Northern Ireland

Local Leaders and Other Politicians

• Hamza Taouzzale, Lord Mayor of Westminster
• Vincent Keaveny, Lord Mayor of London
• Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London

Leaders from Other Countries

Many heads of state, kings, queens, and prime ministers from around the world came to pay their respects.

Commonwealth Realms and Countries

These are countries where Queen Elizabeth II was also the head of state, or members of the Commonwealth of Nations.

Representatives from New Zealand, including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro, attended the funeral.

• Canada: Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada; Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, and four former Canadian Prime Ministers.
• Australia: David Hurley, Governor-General of Australia; Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia.
• New Zealand: Dame Cindy Kiro, Governor-General of New Zealand; Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand.
• Jamaica: Sir Patrick Allen, Governor-General of Jamaica; Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica.
• The Bahamas: Sir Cornelius A. Smith, Governor-General of the Bahamas; Philip Davis, Prime Minister of the Bahamas.
• Papua New Guinea: Sir Bob Dadae, Governor-General of Papua New Guinea; James Marape, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea.
• Tuvalu: Sir Tofiga Vaevalu Falani, Governor-General of Tuvalu; Kausea Natano, Prime Minister of Tuvalu.
• Antigua and Barbuda: Sir Rodney Williams, Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda; Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda.

President Droupadi Murmu of India and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh attended the Queen's funeral.

• Brunei: The Sultan of Brunei.
• Lesotho: The King of Lesotho.
• Malaysia: The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) and Raja Permaisuri Agong (Queen) of Malaysia.
• Tonga: The King of Tonga.
• Bangladesh: Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
• India: Droupadi Murmu, President of India.
• Kenya: William Ruto, President of Kenya.
• South Africa: Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa.
• Singapore: Halimah Yacob, President of Singapore.

International Royalty

Many kings, queens, princes, and princesses from other countries around the world attended.

• The King and Queen of the Belgians.
• The Queen of Denmark.
• The Emperor and Empress of Japan.
• The King and Queen of Jordan.
• The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.
• The Prince and Princess of Monaco.
• The King and Queen of the Netherlands.
• The King and Queen of Norway.
• King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía of Spain, and the current King and Queen of Spain.
• The King and Queen of Sweden.

Heads of State and Government from Other Nations

Leaders from many other countries were present.

French President Emmanuel Macron attended the funeral.

• Albania: Bajram Begaj, President of Albania.
• Austria: Alexander Van der Bellen, President of Austria.
• Brazil: Jair Bolsonaro, President of Brazil.
• Finland: Sauli Niinistö, President of Finland.
• France: Emmanuel Macron, President of France.
• Germany: Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of Germany.
• Greece: Katerina Sakellaropoulou, President of Greece.
• Hungary: Katalin Novák, President of Hungary.
• Ireland: Michael D. Higgins, President of Ireland, and Micheál Martin, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland.
• Israel: Isaac Herzog, President of Israel.
• Italy: Sergio Mattarella, President of Italy.
• South Korea: Yoon Suk-yeol, President of South Korea.
• Poland: Andrzej Duda, President of Poland.
• Romania: Klaus Iohannis, President of Romania.
• Ukraine: Denys Shmyhal, Prime Minister of Ukraine, and Olena Zelenska, First Lady of Ukraine.
• United States: Joe Biden, President of the United States, and First Lady Jill Biden.

Faith Representatives

Leaders from different religions in the UK attended the funeral.

• Vincent Nichols, Roman Catholic Cardinal and Archbishop of Westminster.
• Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, the head of the Church of England.
• Ephraim Mirvis, the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth.
• Representatives from the Buddhist, Sikh, Hindu, Bahá'í, Jain, Zoroastrian, and Muslim communities.

International Organizations

Leaders from important international groups were also present.

• Charles Michel, President of the European Council.
• Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.
• Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO.

Other Important Guests

• Bear Grylls, the Chief Scout of The Scout Association.
• Amanda Medler, the Chief Guide of Girlguiding.
• The Duchess of Westminster*.
• Sir Jackie Stewart*, a famous racing driver.
• Many important people from the horse racing world, as the Queen loved horses.

Who Did Not Attend

Some invited guests could not come, and some countries were not invited at all.

Invited but Absent

• Lech Wałęsa, former President of Poland and a Nobel Peace Prize winner, was invited but couldn't attend due to poor health.
• Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Turkey, was invited but chose not to attend due to security reasons.

Invitations Changed or Withdrawn

• The Crown Princess of Denmark was first invited, then uninvited, as the invitation was sent by mistake.
• The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia was initially invited but the invitation was later withdrawn.

Countries Not Invited

Six countries that are members of the United Nations were not invited because the UK did not have good diplomatic relations with their governments.

• Belarus** and **Russia were not invited because of their involvement in the conflict in Ukraine.
• The governments of Afghanistan**, **Myanmar**, **Syria**, and **Venezuela were also not invited because the UK did not officially recognize them.
• Taiwan was not officially invited because the UK does not have formal diplomatic relations with them. However, Taiwan's representative in the UK was "specially invited" to express condolences.