Why King’s coronation guest list is breaking convention and causing controversy

Published

2 years ago

May 6, 2023

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For the world’s most powerful, there can be no fixture quite as rare, glittering and sought after as a British coronation.

There has not been one for seven decades and leaders and their retinues are flying in to take part.

For Britain, it is a chance to show off its best assets and exude and exert as much soft power as is diplomatically possible at the start of the Carolean era.

King delights fans on palace walkabout – coronation latest

Convention has for centuries dictated that other crowned royals do not attend British coronations. Not this time.

At least four kings and queens and a clutch of princes and princesses are on their way. There will be 90 heads of state in attendance.

US President Joe Biden is following convention and not coming, represented by his wife, the first lady, instead. But most presidents or prime ministers that you would expect will be there.

The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) says 450 foreign dignitaries will be in Westminster Abbey in total – that is about a quarter of the congregation, with 200 nations, realms and Commonwealth countries being represented.

Seating them all will require strict adherence to protocol to avoid causing offence.

In front rows will be foreign royals and representatives of the realms, those 14 countries that still regard the king as head of state.

Behind them, representatives of overseas territories, then representatives from other commonwealth nations with their own heads of state. Behind them, other guests will be seated in strict alphabetical order.

In all, the FCDO will be hosting 220 foreign delegations this weekend.

The list of countries not to receive an embossed invitation from Buckingham Palace is short and predictable. Afghanistan, Belarus, Myanmar, Russia, Syria, Iran and Venezuela. North Korea has been invited but only at ambassadorial level. Nicaragua likewise.

But China has been asked. And that is causing considerable controversy because the man Beijing is sending is widely regarded as the oppressor of Hong Kong. China’s President Xi Jinping has turned down the invite and is sending his vice president instead.

Han Zheng is the Chinese official who did most to rip up the British-Chinese agreement over the former colony, order a brutal crackdown on protests and send hundreds to jail.

The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation told Sky News: “It is pretty disgraceful that the architect of Hong Kong’s demise has been invited to the coronation of King Charles III while other partners with whom the UK has an excellent relationship with, such as Taiwan, have been excluded.

“Who calls the shots in Britain, is it Beijing or our prime minister? Why are we kowtowing to Beijing for the guest list to our own coronation?”

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Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith, who has been sanctioned by the Chinese government, told Sky News: “Han Zheng is primarily responsible for the crack down on democracy campaigners in Hong Kong under the brutal new national security law. Many are British passport holders, particularly Jimmy Lai, journalist and owner of Apple Daily [the Hong Kong pro-democracy paper].

“The architect of this brutal policy in Hong Kong will rub shoulders with the British PM and the King whilst Jimmy Lai and others have lost their freedom.”

Undeterred by the controversy, Britain’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly will be meeting Han Zheng ahead of the coronation.

His officials say he will be discussing “points of criticism” with the vice president. Among them will be China’s treatment of the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang province and failure to abide by commitments in Hong Kong.

But former Hong Kong governor Chris Patten says Han’s attendance at the coronation shows that China does not give “two hoots” about the UK.

Ministers are exploiting the presence of a host of foreign dignitaries in London for less controversial meetings on the sidelines of the event.

The government will be hoping the coronation will be a powerful projection of Britain’s soft power – not least the attendance of globally-known celebrities, from Joanna Lumley and the Beckhams to Mr Bean (aka Rowan Atkinson).

Among the last to arrive at Westminster Abbey will be the 90 foreign heads of state and at least a dozen royals from other nations.

This time they will be arriving under their own steam we understand unlike for the Queen’s funeral when almost all foreign dignitaries were bussed in from Chelsea.

They will be seated according to strict protocol. By tradition foreign royals do not take part in British coronations. Until now the ceremony had been considered too intimate a moment between the monarch and his or her Creator to have other royals involved.

This time at least four kings and queens and a good number of princes and princesses are expected and will have pride of place. They will be seated in the front rows of foreign dignitaries along with representatives of the Commonwealth realms, those 14 countries that still regard the British monarch as their head of state.

We have already had glimpses of some of the world’s most powerful who have flown in for what must be the most sought after fixture in their calendar, giving the rarity, exclusivity and glittering pageantry of this event. Many attended a pre coronation event last night at Buckingham Palace.

Other countries cannot hope to offer that extraordinary combination. French presidential inaugurations may have pomp and circumstance and the glamorous backdrop of Paris but they have no royals at the centre of it, having despatched theirs by guillotine in the 19th century.

American presidential inaugurations are sought after tickets too for the world’s rich, famous and powerful but they happen every four years and also cannot offer the bling, tradition and ceremony of today’s coronation.

Noone can put on a show quite like the British monarchy and 450 foreign dignitaries are in town to make the most of it.

UK

Starmer to announce formal recognition of Palestine as a state

Published

1 hour ago

September 21, 2025

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Starmer to announce formal recognition of Palestine as a state

The UK will formally recognise Palestine as a state, it is understood.

Sir Keir Starmer is expected to make the announcement on Sunday after he said in July that the government would make the move unless Israel met certain conditions.

The prime minister had called on Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to take substantive steps to end the “appalling situation in Gaza“, agree to a ceasefire, commit to a long-term sustainable peace, allow the UN to restart the supply of aid, and not annex the West Bank.

The Israeli foreign ministry furiously rejected his statement, with Mr Netanyahu claiming that “Starmer rewards Hamas‘s monstrous terrorism and punishes its victims”.

Ilay David, brother of Hamas hostage Evyatar David, who was seen emaciated in a video last month, said giving recognition was “like saying to Hamas: ‘It is OK, you can keep starving the hostages, you can keep using them as human shields.’

“This kind of recognition gives Hamas power to be stubborn in negotiations. That is the last thing we need right now.”

There has been no ceasefire, and the situation in Gaza has deteriorated, with a declaration of a famine in Gaza City and the expansion of Israeli military operations.

Israel has launched a major ground offensive to seize all of Gaza City and destroy Hamas in an operation which has prompted widespread condemnation, with UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper calling it “utterly reckless and appalling”.

Earlier this month, a UN commission of inquiry concluded that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel said the claim was “distorted and false”.

The UK will join 147 of the 193 members of the UN who recognise Palestine ahead of the UN General Assembly in New York on Monday.

Other nations, including France, Australia and Canada, have said they plan to take the same step at the UN gathering as part of a broad international effort to put pressure on Israel.

During a joint news conference with the prime minister at Chequers on Thursday, Donald Trump said he disagreed with recognition, and US politicians have urged the UK and other allies to reverse their stance.

Sky News understands that Israel is considering options in response to the UK’s decision, but the strength of that reaction is still under consideration.

Family members of some of the 48 hostages still in captivity, after Hamas and other militant groups stormed into Israel on 7 October 2023, have written an open letter to Sir Keir, condemning the move.

“Hamas has already celebrated the UK’s decision as a victory and reneged on a ceasefire deal,” they said.

“We write to you with a simple plea – do not take this step until our loved ones are home and in our arms.”

The UK government is understood to be looking at further sanctions on Hamas, and has demanded the group release all hostages, agree to an immediate ceasefire, accept it will have no role in governing Gaza, and commit to disarmament.

UK

Heathrow among major airports hit by delays after cyber attack

Published

4 hours ago

September 20, 2025

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Heathrow among major airports hit by delays after cyber attack

Heathrow was among a number of major airports across Europe hit by delays after a suspected cyber attack that targeted a service provider for check-in and boarding systems.

The “technical issue” affecting Collins Aerospace, which provides check-in and boarding services for various airlines, resulted in 14 flights being cancelled at Brussels Airport on Saturday, and several more being delayed at London Heathrow, Berlin, and Dublin, among others.

‘Very clever cyber attack’ cancels flights in Europe – latest

Passengers have reported being unable to check in online, instead queuing for hours for staff to deal with them manually at desks and departure gates, only to be told their flights are not taking off.

Helen Steel, 49, left Dorset for Heathrow at 3am to travel home to Oslo, with her cat Thomas – but was “shouted at by staff” who told her she would not be able to fly until Sunday.

Describing the situation as an “absolute nightmare”, she said: “I’ve got an animal here, so I’m very concerned about his welfare.

“I’ve been shouted at twice and I broke down in tears because I was worried about him. None of us have had any information whatsoever. Whenever we ask ground staff, they shout at us.”

Ms Steel says she spent two hours in the queue on the phone to customer service and is now having to find a hotel to stay in overnight.

Sam arrived at Heathrow expecting to drop his girlfriend off for her flight to Rio de Janeiro – but was still at the airport seven hours later.

When they arrived, it was “chaos everywhere”, he told Sky News, with “nobody seeming to know what was going on”.

The couple say they were not told about the cyber attack by airport staff, finding out about it online instead.

After queuing for three hours, they made it to the front, only to be told the plane was not taking off, he adds.

“Her flight was at 8.40am and it was held back until 10.15am. At 10.10am they sent everyone away and told them to contact the airline. But there are no representatives for any airlines whatsoever. It’s been a bit of a farce.

“Nobody knew where they were going – and they were sending people left, right, and centre.

“She’s going tomorrow now, but we’ve got to find a hotel, and no one is here to give us any hotel vouchers. They just give you a piece of paper and say ‘you’ve got to pay for it yourself’.”

‘Insane queues’ and ‘skeleton staff’

Passenger Tereza Pultarova waited around 10 hours at Heathrow after she arrived at 4.30am for her flight to Cape Town via Amsterdam.

“We were kind of stranded here because KLM wasn’t able to issue us boarding passes digitally, and requested us to collect them at the check-in desk,” she said.

“And then they told us that there is some sort of global issue with the system they’re using for check-in and boarding, and they have to do everything manually. So then they were checking in people at the rate of, like, one person per 10 minutes.

“I’m not exaggerating. It was just insane, the queue wasn’t moving. And then suddenly they said, ‘Oh, the flight will be departing, we’re closing the gate’.

Maria Casey was due to fly to Thailand with Etihad Airways – but had to wait three hours to drop off her luggage at Heathrow, with staff taking between five and 10 minutes to deal with each passenger.

“The queues are terrible,” she told Sky News. “It was an absolute skeleton staff. Out of six of the desks there were probably two people”.

A Heathrow spokesperson advised people to arrive no more than three hours early for a flight and apologised for any inconvenience.

It is understood British Airways at Terminal 5 remains unaffected and is operating as normal.

Collins Aerospace said it is working to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

“We have become aware of a cyber-related disruption to our Muse (Multi-User System Environment) software in select airports, the firm said in a statement.

“The impact is limited to electronic customer check-in and baggage drop and can be mitigated with manual check-in operations. We are actively working to resolve the issue and restore full functionality to our customers as quickly as possible.”

UK

‘Delighted to be free’: Elderly British couple who were detained by Taliban arrive in UK

Published

5 hours ago

September 20, 2025

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'Delighted to be free': Elderly British couple who were detained by Taliban arrive in UK

An elderly British couple who have arrived back in the UK after being detained in a maximum security Taliban prison are “delighted to be free”, their son has told Sky News.

Barbie Reynolds, 76, and her husband Peter, 80, were arrested in February after spending decades in Afghanistan, where they have dual citizenship.

They had been held without charge before being released from detention on Friday and flown to Qatar, where they were reunited with their daughter, before flying back to Heathrow Airport on Saturday.

The couple’s son, Jonathan Reynolds, told Sky News: “They’re just delighted to be free… they’re very excited to see their kids and grandkids and great grandkids, people they’ve just been wanting to catch up with and wondered if they’d ever see them again.”

Jonathan, who spoke to his parents from Wyoming in the US in a FaceTime call with some of his siblings, said: “I’ve seen photographs of them in hospital beds getting checked. I’ve seen them having full English breakfasts. So they’re jumping on that.”

He described some of the conditions his parents had been kept under in a “big maximum security prison with thousands of inmates”.

“My dad described being handcuffed or chained to other criminals. And, one point he had his chest hairs ripped out,” he said.

“He was hit in the head. And, then they were moved, to more of a safe house.”

But Jonathan said his parents retained their British politeness even when calling him from a payphone in the prison yard, with his dad asking: “Is now a good time?”.

“It was totally, ‘Yeah, not too bad. Where’s the queue to get out of here?'”

The UK government advises British nationals not to travel to Afghanistan.

Abdul Qahar Balkhi, a spokesperson at the Taliban government’s foreign ministry, said in a statement posted on X that the couple “violated Afghan law” and were released from prison after a court hearing.

He did not say what law the couple were alleged to have broken.

Sky correspondent Cordelia Lynch was at Kabul Airport as the freed couple arrived and departed.