- Monday, May 20, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
While organisers were doing their best to ensure that foreign dignitaries attending the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II got perfect seating arrangements, yet they had one challenge to deal with and that is: diplomatic row between nations.
With several world leaders invited to Westminster Abbey for the royal funeral, the seating plan, the drafting of which could begin only on Thursday (15) when RSVPs closed, was key so that tensions between certain countries could be avoided from turning worse, the Daily Mail reported.
For example, the organisers had to be cautious when it came to the placement of the representatives from India and Pakistan; South Korea and North Korea; Iran and Israel, Greece and Turkey; or Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Indian president Droupadi Murmu reached the UK for the funeral while from Pakistan, prime minister Shehbaz Sharif was due to attend.
From South Korea, president Yoon Suk-yeol was due to represent his country at the funeral while from North Korea, it was its ambassador.
Iran was due to be represented by its envoy while from Israel, it was its president Isaac Herzog, who recently said Iran is behind the global ‘dark forces of hate’.
Greece and Turkey also have a tense relation over their recent clashes in the Aegean Sea, while Saudi and Qatar have locked horns in the Middle East.
However, it is not something new for hosts organising big events with multiple representatives. Jeremy Bernard, who was former US president Barack Obama’s social secretary, ensured that every G7 leader’s cabin had the same standard during a retreat in Camp David.
“The seating is always a challenge,” he told Sunday Times, adding, “You have to make sure none feel more welcome than others. It mustn’t seem there’s any favouritism.”
