President Droupadi Murmu to attend Queen Elizabeth II's funeral

India will be represented at the highest level in the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on Monday.

President Droupadi Murmu will visit London from Saturday to Monday to attend the funeral of the longest reigning monarch of Britain and offer condolences on behalf of the Indian government. This is going to be the first foreign visit of Murmu after she took over as President of India on July 25 last.

Queen Elizabeth II, the head of the Commonwealth of Nations, breathed her last at Balmoral Castle, the holiday home of the royal family in Scotland, on September 8.

Murmu will join many world leaders, including US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron, who will attend the funeral of the Queen.

It marks the first state funeral in the UK in 57 years, last held at the Abbey for Winston Churchill in 1965.

Read | Thousands come for last glimpse of Queen Elizabeth II

Former British Prime Minister Alec Douglas-Home had come for the funeral of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Indian PM, in 1964. After his successor Indira Gandhi was assassinated in 1984, her then-counterpart Margaret Thatcher and Princess Anne had attended her funeral in New Delhi.

“In the 70 years of reign of Queen Elizabeth II, India-UK ties have evolved, flourished and strengthened immensely,” the Ministry of External Affairs stated. She played an important role in the welfare of millions of people around the world as Head of the Commonwealth, it added.

Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have expressed condolences at the demise of Queen Elizabeth II.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited the British High Commission in New Delhi on September 12 to convey condolences on behalf of the Government of India.

India also observed a day of national mourning last Sunday.