London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 29, 2026

UK rows back from ‘no cars, no private jets’ VIP guidance for Queen Elizabeth’s funeral

UK rows back from ‘no cars, no private jets’ VIP guidance for Queen Elizabeth’s funeral

Downing Street insists US President Joe Biden will not have to take the bus to Westminster Abbey.
Downing Street has rowed back over leaked government guidance for world leaders traveling to Queen Elizabeth’s funeral that required them to abandon their official cars and arrive by shuttle bus.

Official documents issued to overseas embassies and obtained by POLITICO Sunday stated world leaders “will be required” to leave their personal vehicles at a site in west London on September 19 and attend the funeral in shared coaches. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) blamed “tight security and road restrictions” for the measure.

On Monday the prime minister’s official spokesman confirmed the U.K. government — rather than Buckingham Palace — is taking the lead on logistical arrangements, but refused to comment on specific details “for operational security arrangements.”

But asked if U.S. President Joe Biden would really be expected to arrive at Westminster Abbey on a bus, the spokesman said it would be left to the U.S. leader to decide.

“I think that would be a question for the U.S. and how they prefer the president to travel,” he said.

“I would say that clearly arrangements for leaders, including how they travel, will vary depending on individual circumstances. And the guidance and information provided is guidance.”

The private document sent to embassies Saturday evening was unequivocal, however. “Overseas representatives invited to attend the state funeral will be required to travel in escorted coaches via [a location in west London], where their own vehicles may wait,” it said.

The document also advised world leaders to take commercial flights to the U.K. where possible, but said private jets could be used if arriving at London’s less-busy airports.

Earlier Monday, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he would ignore the guidance and attend the funeral in his official jet.

“I will travel this Thursday night from Australia,” Albanese told ABC Breakfast. “Those plans have been in place for a long period of time, since well before I became prime minister.”

Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles told ABC Radio National that it would not be “sensible” for a world leader like Albanese to take a commercial flight, despite the FCDO advice.

Marles, who also serves as Australia’s defense minister, said security was the “paramount consideration.”

“There are real issues of having prime ministers on commercial planes in terms of the security of the public who are also on those planes. So we’ve got to be sensible about this,” he said.

Meanwhile, the list of confirmed guests continues to grow for a diplomatic event with few parallels in recent times. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin and South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol confirmed their attendance Monday.

Leaders including U.S. President Joe Biden, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had already done so last week.

Also likely to attend the funeral are Japan’s Emperor Naruhito, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and French President Emmanuel Macron, among many more.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not yet confirmed whether he will travel to London. There has been no word yet from Chinese President Xi Jinping, who will leave China this week for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began to attend a summit in Central Asia.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Hospitality Industry Reports Stronger Summer Trading but Seeks Tax Relief
Reform UK Proposes £30 Tax Credit for Long HMRC Helpline Waits
Labour Debates Caps on Political Donations Ahead of Future Elections
England Accelerates Housing and Planning Reforms Amid Affordability Crisis
NHS Expands Walk-In Community Health Centers to 40 Locations
UK Regulators Expect Meta to Apply Stronger Child Safety Standards Globally
UK Groups Demand Faster Transport Decarbonization After Extreme Summer Weather
UK Launches 10,000 Work Experience Placements as Youth Unemployment Concerns Rise
UK Government Faces Difficult Autumn Budget Choices Over Defense, Spending and Taxes
UK Government Rejects Calls to Slow AI Data Center Expansion
IMF Raises UK Growth Forecast to 1% Despite Global Supply Chain Risks
UK Unsecured Loan Defaults Reach Highest Level Since 2009
UK Energy Price Cap to Rise 4% to Three-Year High of £1,723
More Than 30 Britons Reported Missing After Deadly Nepal-Tibet Floods
Royal Navy Tracks Russian Warships and Sanctioned Vessels in 72-Hour Operation
Police Intensify Investigation Into Organised Crime-Linked Violence in Middlesbrough
UK Small Businesses Face Continued Revenue and Tax Pressures, Federation Says
M&G Real Estate Buys West Sussex Affordable Housing Portfolio for £29 Million
Royal Navy Warship HMS Tamar Visits Cambodia for Regional Security Engagement
UK Government Brings Forward Benefit Payments Ahead of August Bank Holiday
Four Men Plead Guilty to Arson Attack on Jewish Community Ambulances in North London
Ofgem Raises Great Britain’s Household Energy Price Cap by Four Percent From October
UK Government Rejects Green Party Call for Artificial Intelligence Datacentre Moratorium
Millions of UK Benefit Recipients Receive Payments Early Ahead of August Bank Holiday
UK Prime Minister Meets Northern Ireland Leaders in Belfast Over Budget Crisis
Crypto Tax Gains Reach One Point Three Eight Billion Pounds Among UK Investors, HMRC Data Shows
UK Corporate Confidence Rises to Highest Level Since March, Lloyds Survey Shows
Mike Ashley Attacks UK Government Business Rates and Cost-of-Living Policies
Scottish Universities Face Two Hundred Million Pound Annual Funding Gap, Report Warns
Entertainment Figures Urge UK Government to Protect People From AI Voice Cloning
Manchester Airports Group Confirms Customer Data Breached in Cyberattack
Seven Charged Over Vandalism at Donald Trump’s Turnberry Golf Resort in Scotland
Nearly 23,000 UK Households Expected to Move Home on Busiest Day of 2026
UK Benefit Payments to Arrive Early Ahead of August Bank Holiday
Reform UK Pledges to Replace GDPR and Cut Tax Administration Red Tape
Andy Burnham Launches Work Experience Plan for One Million Young People Outside Education or Work
Andy Burnham Faces Labour Backlash After Dropping Support for Political Donations Cap
Andy Burnham Announces UK-Wide Summit With Leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Met Office Warns of Heavy Rain and Flood Risk Across England and Wales After Summer Heat
Bank of England Warns AI Adoption Could Reduce Demand for Automatable Jobs
UK Confirms National Salmonella Outbreak With More Than 200 Cases
UK Airports Handle Record 81 Million Passengers Despite Middle East Disruption
Ofgem Raises UK Energy Price Cap by Four Percent to £1,723
Cyber Attack Hits Customer Data Systems at Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands Airports
TSA Unveils Major Airport-Security Overhaul as It Drops Gold+ Privatization Plan
CIA Chief Warned Russia Against Attacking NATO in Secret Moscow Mission
Raheem Sterling Charged With Dangerous Driving After Lamborghini Crash
The Secret Dolly Parton Kept Until Her Death: "She Was Much Sicker Than She Let On"
Middlesbrough House Fire Kills Woman and Seven-Year-Old Girl
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Return to UK Amid Renewed Media Attention
×