LONDON: Foreign leaders and their spouses attending Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral have been told to fly commercial into Britain and take laid-on buses to reach the service, reports have said.
Around 500 foreign dignitaries are expected to attend Britain's first state funeral in six decades as officials mount "a huge-scale operation" for the event on September 19, a source at the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office said.
"The logistics have been meticulously planned to try to make it as smooth as possible for those attending," the source added.
News website Politico reported that attendees have been told not to use their own vehicles to reach the service at Westminster Abbey or travel across London by helicopter.
Instead, they will be transported by escorted private buses to the abbey from a site in west London where they will have parked, it reported, citing an official protocol message sent to overseas embassies.
"Tight security and road restrictions" were cited by Politico as the reasons, but the purported stipulations have raised eyebrows, with one London-based foreign ambassador telling Politico: "Can you imagine Joe Biden on the bus?"
US presidents travel long-distance on Air Force One -- typically one of two customised Boeing 747 planes -- and then use their Marine One helicopter and an armoured limousine dubbed "The Beast" to get around.
The US Embassy in London did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The state funeral, the first since that of former prime minister Winston Churchill in 1965, will be one of the biggest security and logistical operations Britain has ever staged.
Prince Harry calls Queen Elizabeth his 'guiding compass'
Prince Harry on Monday paid an emotional tribute to his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, calling her his "guiding compass", and vowing to "honour" his father in his new role as king.
In his first public comments since the queen's death last week aged 96, Harry said he was "forever grateful" to her and said she was "sorely missed".
Harry and his wife Meghan stunned the monarchy by announcing they were quitting royal duties and moving to the United States in early 2020.
From there, they launched a series of broadsides criticising their life in the institution, including claims of racism.
That exacerbated tensions with his older brother, heir to the throne Prince William -- with whom he is reported to be barely on speaking terms -- and their father, now King Charles III.
But Harry, who was on a whistlestop visit to Britain with Meghan when the queen died, was handed an olive branch by Charles in his first speech as king, when he spoke of his "love" for the couple.
William also invited his brother and sister-in-law to join them for an impromptu walkabout to view floral tributes at Windsor Castle on Saturday.
Harry, a former British Army captain who saw service in Afghanistan, said the queen was his commander-in-chief but also his "granny".
He said he would cherish the memory of the first time she met Meghan and hugged the couple's young children, Archie, aged three, and Lilibet, one. "I cherish these times shared with you, and the many other special moments in between. You are already sorely missed, not just by us, but by the world over," he added.
Prince Andrew won't wear military uniform at funeral
Prince Andrew will not wear a military uniform, unlike other senior British royals, at Queen Elizabeth II's funeral, underlining his continuing estrangement from the family.
Andrew was stripped of his "His Royal Highness" and honorary military titles at the start of the year amid ongoing fallout from a sex assault scandal.
The 62-year-old re-appeared in public this weekend having been effectively banished from royal life over allegations he had sex with a victim of American child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
He was photographed being driven to the Queen's Balmoral estate on Thursday, the day of her death, and appeared alongside other grieving senior royals on Saturday and Sunday in Scotland.
While fellow family members will wear uniform for five separate commemorative events for the Queen, including her state funeral next Monday, Andrew will only don military colours for a final vigil in Westminster Hall, Britain's domestic Press Association news agency said.
Andrew was honorary colonel of the Grenadier Guards, whose soldiers are part of the Household Division that guard Buckingham Palace in their distinctive bearskin hats and red tunics.
Often called the Queen's "favourite son", he was accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl in 2001 who claimed she was delivered to him by Epstein. Andrew, who denied the allegations, settled a US civil lawsuit over the allegations in February for an undisclosed sum.
King Charles III is expected to make his younger brother's royal exile permanent, experts say. - AFP/dpa
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