US president and first lady had to wait as procession
of George and Victoria Cross-holders went ahead of them
Daniel
Boffey Chief reporter
Mon 19 Sep
2022 15.45 BST
He may be
the world’s most powerful man but the apparent late arrival of the US
president, Joe Biden, and his wife, Jill, was not allowed to disrupt the finely
tuned choreography of the late Queen’s funeral.
Rather than
being ushered immediately to their seats on their arrival at Westminster Abbey,
the first couple, aged 79 and 71, had to be gently told they would need to
stand and wait as a procession of George and Victoria Cross-holders went ahead
of them down the nave of the abbey.
After an
awkward period of small talk at the main entrance, as those awarded the highest
decorations of military valour went ahead, the Bidens finally followed in the
wake of Victoria Cross-holder Pte Johnson Beharry, pushing the wheelchair of
Keith Payne VC, 89.
The US
president had been given a dispensation to make his journey to the abbey in the
“the Beast”, a heavily armoured limousine used by US presidents for security
reasons, rather than be bussed to the abbey with the other heads of state and
government.
Camera
footage shared on social media showed that the Bidens had made slow progress
through central London, even being momentarily forced to stop outside a Pret a
Manger on Oxford Street.
After arriving
hand in hand, the Bidens finally sat down in their places in the abbey at
10.05am. The schedule published by Buckingham Palace suggested the 500 invited
dignitaries should have been seated between 9.35am and 9.55am.
Perhaps as
a consequence of opting out of the buses taking other leaders from the assembly
point at Royal Hospital Chelsea, the Bidens were also given seats 14 rows back
in the south transept of the abbey.
The US
president took his seat behind Andrzej Duda, the president of Poland, and in
front of Petr Fiala, the prime minister of the Czech Republic. Sitting to her
husband’s left, Jill Biden sat next to Ignazio Cassis, the president of
Switzerland.
The special
treatment demanded by the White House was by some way not the most significant
diplomatic difficulty facing the earl marshal, the Duke of Norfolk, who was in
charge of planning the funeral.
While the
decision of Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to
not attend avoided some damaging headlines, a decision to invite Spain’s
disgraced former King Juan Carlos and to then seat him next to his son King
Felipe VI and his wife, Queen Letizia, appears likely to make things difficult
for the Spanish royal family back home.
Felipe, 54,
came to the throne when his father abdicated in 2014 amid dwindling popularity.
The 84-year-old, who appeared frail and had to lean on an aide, spends most of
his time in self-imposed exile in Abu Dhabi following a series of scandals
related to his finances that culminated in Felipe stripping him of his annual
stipend and renouncing his personal inheritance.
There had
already been a backlash over Juan Carlos’s attendance at the funeral but the
Spanish royal household had been determined to at least not to make it worse by
allowing a photograph to emerge of the two kings together only for the demands
of royal protocol made it unavoidable.
Gerardo
Pisarello, an MP for the Catalan branch of the far-left, anti-austerity Podemos
party, tweeted: “[Felipe] says he wants nothing to do with his father; that
he’s renounced his inheritance and knew nothing about the fiscal outrages. Then
they go and sit together as if nothing’s happened, all while Juan Carlos is
investigated in England. Shameful.” Pisarello was referring to a case being
made against Juan Carlos by a former lover who has accused him of harassment.
The abbey
bore witness to the gathering of royals and world leaders not seen for many
decades. Among those attending were Japan’s emperor, Naruhito, who rarely makes
overseas visits, and Empress Masako who has been largely absent from public
appearances since suffering from what the imperial household agency has
described as a “adjustment disorder” after giving birth to the couple’s only
child, Princess Aiko.
Moncloa pressures King Juan Carlos not to attend the
funeral of his cousin Elizabeth II in London
The previous monarch assumes this directive with
resignation and annoyance and takes it as "an act of service and loyalty
to Spain and the Spaniards" so as not to harm the Royal House
Alejandro
Entrambasaguas
10/09/2022
Updated 07:48
September
19, 2022
The
Government of Pedro Sánchez has communicated to the House of His Majesty the
King its wish that King Juan Carlos not attend the funeral of his cousin the
Queen of England Isabel II. A demand that makes evident the statements of the
Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, who had assured on Friday
that he had no impediment in the previous monarch going to London.
As El
Debate has learned, Moncloa's objective with this veto has been interpreted as
an attempt to wear down the image of Juan Carlos I and increase the gap with
his son King Felipe VI. A refusal that comes after the Spanish and Swiss courts
have completely exonerated King Juan Carlos by shelving the cases that were
open against him. For his part, Juan Carlos I assumes this directive "as
an act of service and loyalty to Spain and the Spaniards".
This
newspaper has been able to know that Don Juan Carlos and his cousin Queen
Isabel II maintained a close relationship of affection, which meant that every
time the monarch traveled to London he saw her personally. In fact, the contact
between the two, tremendously fluid, caused his cousin to be in permanent
contact with him when he was already residing in Abu Dhabi. On September 8, the
day on which the monarch died, King Juan Carlos followed with great concern the
minute by minute of everything that would happen in London.
The family
and emotional ties between the Bourbons and the Windsors, and in particular
between John Charles I and Elizabeth II, have brought up the possibility of
King Juan Carlos traveling from Abu Dhabi to the United Kingdom, to pay his
last tribute to the monarch. The Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños,
explained this Friday that it will be the Executive and the Royal House who
will establish this delegation, once he notifies them of the funeral protocol.
Juan Carlos
I has assumed this demand of the Government with resignation and some
annoyance, since he does not understand the demand that has been imposed on him
not to move from the United Arab Emirates. In spite of everything, Don Juan
Carlos accepts Moncloa's instructions "so as not to harm his son and the
image of the Royal House." This year it has been twenty-four months since
he resides more than 7,500 kilometers from Spain.
Last
Friday, Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares was asked in an interview if King
Juan Carlos could attend the funeral. A question that the minister answered by
assuring that "currently the head of state is Felipe VI and that, like his
father, he also represents the family ties existing between the two royal houses",
sliding that there was no impediment for the previous monarch to travel to
England. Albares ended the matter by explaining that "it will be the
Government with the Royal House who will decide the best representation by
Spain."
The funeral
for the death of Queen Elizabeth II is scheduled to take place on September 19
at Westminster Abbey. The specific day will be confirmed by Buckingham Palace.
The abbey is the historic church in which kings and queens are crowned. There
took place the coronation of Queen Isabell II in 1953 and it was where the then
princess married Prince Philip in 1947.
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