The Queen’s funeral is a somber moment for nations across the globe as well as here in the UK, with hundreds of heads of state, prime ministers and presidents all gathering to pay their respects, it has also been billed as the one of the diplomatic events of the century – but how will the new Prime Minister balance the need to offer condolences with the need to introduce herself to the world’s key players?
A lot of important people are coming to this event, so it is a big deal.
The UK has invited almost every country it has diplomatic relations with to the wedding, with the exception of Russia and Belarus (due to the invasion of Ukraine), as well as Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, Myanmar’s military junta, and Syria’s brutal dictator Bashar Assad.
On Sunday, King Charles hosted a Buckingham Palace reception for around 500 global figures and their partners. This historic gathering of the world’s leaders gave Prime Minister Liz Truss and the new monarch an incredible opportunity for face time with key dignitaries.
She will have been more careful when talking to other world leaders, taking a softer approach to get her key points across, because of the serious circumstances.
Bilateral meetings with the leaders of Ireland, Canada and Poland will take place in Downing Street over the weekend. According to No 10, the meetings will be an opportunity for world leaders to offer their condolences over the Queen’s death, while acknowledging politics is likely to come up.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin said his meeting with Ms Truss was good, despite the tensions between Ireland and England over Northern Ireland. He said now is not the time to get into a argument over the Protocol.
The difficult setting of the funeral may have made it more difficult for Ms. Truss to get to know the other leaders, as it would have been difficult to joke around as a way to break the ice.
The decision to delay Ms Truss’s crucial first meeting with Joe Biden until after the funeral suggests the Prime Minister wants those talks to be freer than the ones she has been having over the weekend, with officials briefing that a bilateral summit on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York would allow a “fuller” discussion.
Ms Truss will meet with key players from around the world at the summit and in London.
Elvira Olson is a news reporter for the ABC News affiliate in Los Angeles. She has more than 20 years of experience in journalism and has won numerous awards for her work, including an Emmy.