President Murmu to attend Queen Elizabeth II's funeral & offer condolences on GoI's behalf

President Droupadi Murmu will be visiting the United Kingdom to attend the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and offer condolences on behalf of the Government of India. President Murmu will take off for London on September 17 and fly back to New Delhi on September 19. 

President Murmu's message on Queen Elizabeth's demise

The longest-serving monarch of Britain passed away on September 8. Condoling the demise of the former Head of State of the Commonwealth of Nations, President Murmu said that the “world has lost a great personality”.

“In the demise of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the UK, the world has lost a great personality. An era has passed since she steered her country and people for over 7 decades. I share the grief of people of UK and convey my heartfelt condolence to the family,” she tweeted.

Besides President Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar condoled the demise of the former head of state of the UK and Head of the Commonwealth of Nations. India also observed a day of national mourning on September 11.

World leaders to fly to London

A host of world leaders, royalty and other dignitaries will attend Queen Elizabeth's funeral scheduled for September 19. President of the United States Joe Biden with first lady Jill Biden, President of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese among others will attend the final rites at Westminster Abbey in London. 

According to Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) documents obtained by ‘Politico’, all international heads of state and their spouses planning to arrive in London for the State Funeral have been asked to arrive on commercial flights rather than private jets and have also been asked not to use helicopters to get around. They have reportedly been told they cannot use their own state cars to arrive at the service at Westminster Abbey scheduled for 11am local time and would instead be taken by bus from a site in west London.

(with PTI inputs)