Biden to travel with wife, not with a delegation to Queen Elizabeth’s funeral

Sep 12, 2022, 6:01 AM | Updated: 11:00 am

President Joe Biden signs a condolence book at the British Embassy in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022, for Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's longest-reigning monarch and a rock of stability across much of a turbulent century, who died Thursday after 70 years on the throne. Charles Roxburgh, Permanent Secretary of HM Treasury of United Kingdom, left, British ambassador Karen Pierce, second from left, and first lady Jill Biden, second from right, look on. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

BY JAKE TAPPER, ANCHOR AND CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT

KSLTV.com

(CNN) — Buckingham Palace did not invite President Joe Biden to assemble a delegation to attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II next week, and instead extended a specific invitation for only the President and first lady, a White House official told CNN.

The White House announced Sunday that Biden had formally accepted the invitation and would be accompanied by the first lady.

Previous state funerals, such as the one for former South African president Nelson Mandela, have allowed for the sitting president to bring a delegation of officials to the event.

The state funeral for the Queen will take place on September 19 at Westminster Abbey, and she will lie in state in Westminster Hall from Wednesday, Buckingham Palace announced Saturday.

The Queen’s coffin arrived Sunday at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, following a six-hour journey from Balmoral Castle to the Scottish capital. Britain’s longest-serving monarch died Thursday at the age of 96 at her Scottish country estate in Balmoral.

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