Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. What can Andrzej Duda hear from the British court?

The funeral of Elizabeth II will be one of the largest security and logistics operations ever held. The government in London, which has sent out funeral notices, is expecting the arrival of up to 500 politicians, diplomats and monarchs from around the world.

Fact: The funeral of Elizabeth II is a grandiose event, moreover, a diplomatic one. But only heads of state with an accompanying person were invited to the ceremony. Larger delegations have no chance. Were security considerations dictated by this decision? Or maybe the interest is so great that you have to introduce restrictions?

Vitold Sobkov: I think that both considerations are important here, but the first of them was probably decisive. There are so many leaders who want to come to the funeral of the Queen, who ruled for 70 years in the United Kingdom, it is not surprising, but security must be observed. The British are very well organized, and in general such events are always well prepared. I personally attended the funeral services for Margaret Thatcher and saw how they organized them. The protocol is very complex. It is a combination of royal protocol with diplomatic protocol and ecclesiastical protocol. So it’s very difficult, but they have great experience in preparing this kind of holiday, and they are generally well organized.

Not everyone was invited to the ceremony. Russia, Belarus and Myanmar were not invited to the Queen’s funeral. What can it say?

Usually, when it comes to such matters, the Palace asks the opinion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. And such recommendations have been given at the moment. The most likely reason for not inviting Vladimir Putin is his attack on Ukraine and the invasion, which has been going on there for more than six months. A similar reason is in the case of Alexander Lukashenko, who supports Vladimir Putin in his hostile actions against Ukraine. In any case, it was not recognized by Great Britain after the last elections. Representatives from Myanmar were not invited because of the coup d’état that took place there this year. Now the country maintains good relations with Russia. This is a signal of condemnation of aggression in Ukraine. In any case, when it comes to Russia, we also observe the rules that are now adopted regarding the presence of Russian politicians at various ceremonies. They are not invited because of the aggression in Ukraine, because of the war that was unleashed without any reason.

President Andrzej Duda and his wife are on their way to the funeral. Where can the Polish delegation be placed?

It’s really hard to say, because the last such state funeral, i.e. a state funeral was held in 1965 when Winston Churchill died. Therefore, hardly anyone remembers, except perhaps historians who know the archives, what the protocol was at that time. Besides, a lot has changed. At the moment, all this will be reworked. One thing is for sure: the protocol will be ideally prepared for this task, but it will not be easy. For example, since 1965, many countries have appeared that did not exist before.

I would not attach much importance to who sits and how far away, because this is a matter of protocol and there are no hidden intentions or singling out anyone. The British hate to make exceptions, so they strictly adhere to the rules and protocol. For example, what is unique when a new ambassador to the UK comes or goes is never accepted by a foreign secretary at that level. Later, he may meet with the minister many times at various conferences or meetings, but he is not received. And they strictly adhere to this principle, because if they make one exception, all countries will want the same.

The British have an excellent protocol, only in the case of the funeral of Elizabeth II, it will be about agreeing on three protocols: royal, diplomatic and ecclesiastical. It’s tricky, especially in case of precedent, because you have to include church representatives.

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During such ceremonies, important discussions between representatives of different countries often take place. Will King Charles III have such negotiations? On the other hand, who can count on them?

So far, the funeral program is not fully known. They say that the heads of state will be transported in buses. If so, then the heads of state will already be sitting next to each other and talking there. As well as at the celebrations. On the other hand, at the ceremony, King Charles will try to talk to everyone if there is such an opportunity, since he does not like to single out anyone, he will exchange a few words with everyone. It won’t be a long conversation, maybe less than a minute with everyone, maybe even less in this case. He can, for example, simply say hello and say: “I am pleased that you honored the memory of my late mother, Elizabeth II, with your presence.”

Does this mean that President Andrzej Duda also has a chance for such a conversation?

It seems to me that everyone has such a chance. I know King Charles fairly well. I was a guest of Prince Charles in two palaces: in Scotland and in Dorset, where we walked around the experimental city of Poundbury, designed by him. King Charles does not like to make exceptions and tries to talk to everyone for a minute. It will not be that he will suit the president of the United States, and not the president of some small non-European country. It should also be remembered that the Commonwealth of Nations - the British Commonwealth - is very important for the British. Those countries that in our precedent or protocol would not have priority in many things do in Great Britain because the Commonwealth is a community and the Queen was the head of 14 countries. Therefore, if anyone is distinguished, it is the Commonwealth.

So there is no chance for longer negotiations?

There won’t be time for that. However, I assume that if King Carol came up to our President, he could say something like that, it’s nice to see the President of Poland at these ceremonies, and that he appreciates Poland’s role in supporting Ukraine, which is going through such a tragedy. Perhaps this is an opinion, because King Charles is well informed and knows perfectly well what the role of Poland is. In addition, he knows the history of Polish-British relations and the royal family with Poland. They have been grown for many years. Poland is a special country when it comes to World War II, the presence of General Sikorski and the headquarters of Polish troops in the Rubens Hotel opposite Buckingham Palace. The ties of the royal family with Poland are close, as well as kinship or dynastic ties, so Poland is a special country. We must remember the Battle of Britain, and the royal family remembers very well the contribution of the Poles to the Battle of Britain. We are not one of many countries, but a special country. And at the moment, the UK is one of our main allies in terms of supporting and protecting Ukraine.

Thank you for talking.

Agnieszka Kaszuba gives an interview

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