Joe Biden to take Beast, others the bus

Joe Biden will have dispensation to take his armoured Beast to Westminster Abbey for the Queen’s funeral next week, while lesser world leaders will have to make do with a shared bus.

President Joe Biden's limousine. Picture: Reuters

Joe Biden will have dispensation to take his armoured Beast to Westminster Abbey for the Queen’s funeral next week, while lesser world leaders will have to make do with a shared bus.

An unprecedented logistical and diplomatic operation is under way to prepare for the largest gathering of foreign dignitaries on British soil since the funeral of Sir Winston Churchill in 1965.

More than 100 kings, queens and heads of state are expected to attend Monday’s ceremony. However, the influx of dignitaries is proving a headache for the government as officials try to balance the needs of foreign VIPs with the smooth running of the event.

A representative of every country with which Britain has diplomatic relations will be invited. However, amid fears of gridlock on the roads around West-minster, many have been asked to share buses from an undisclosed location in west London.

There will be notable exceptions: Whitehall sources said the US President, who has confirmed his attendance, would be allowed to travel to the abbey in the President’s armoured Cadillac, known as the Beast, on security grounds.

Other world leaders, including President Macron of France, Emperor Naruhito of Japan and President Herzog of Israel, are also likely to have their own transport, based on security considerations. A government source said it clearly would not be appropriate to ask G7 leaders to “take a bus”, but said dignitaries were being asked to be as flexible as possible.

All countries have been told that their maximum allocation of seats is restricted to the head of state or their representative plus partner. Though the guest list has not been finalised, it is expected that, despite the conflict in Ukraine, Russia will be represented by its ambassador. North Korea also has a diplomatic presence in London and is expected to be represented. The former colony of Myanmar, with which Britain does not have diplomatic relations, will not be invited.

Monarchs expected to attend include King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands and King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain. Felipe’s father Juan Carlos, who abdicated in 2014, will also attend with his wife Sofia.

The Times