The request of Zimbabwean President, Emmerson Mnangagwa, to attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II has been denied by King Charles III.
According to The Punch , The Zimbabwean President had earlier requested to attend the Queen’s funeral in a condolence letter.
Mnangagwa was not included in the list of invited world leaders to the lying-in-state by Buckingham Palace.
Charles III, in a statement by the deputy to the senior correspondence officer, Miss Jannie Vine, stated that the request of the Zimbabwean President was denied due to the report of in his country.
The statement reads in part, “His Majesty King Charles III, has asked me to inform you that President Mnangagwa’s request cannot be granted as it would go against the restrictions, those of travel that the United Kingdom has in place with regards to many of the Zimbabwean governmental leadership and those connected to them.
There is also concern at the confirmed reports of non-adherence to respecting human rights occurring in Zimbabwe.”
However, in a report by Premium Times, the British Embassy in Harare on Thursday denies barring Zimbabwe President from Queen’s funeral
The embassy made this known through its Twitter handle saying, “President Mnangagwa has been invited to attend the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey on Monday.”
“The letter below is fake,” it said, attaching a copy of the letter making the rounds on social media.
The UK ambassador to Zimbabwe, Melanie Robinson, on Friday, posted a picture of Mr Mnangagwa signing the condolence book at the embassy.
Mr Mnangagwa also posted on his official Twitter account, a photo of him signing and posing with the ambassador.
“It was an honour to sign the condolence book for the late Queen Elizabeth II at the @UKinZimbabwe Embassy and to pass on my support to @HMAMelanieR ,”he tweeted.
Queen Elizabeth II will on Monday receive a state funeral at London’s Westminster Abbey, one of the largest diplomatic occasions of the century.
According to CNN, world leaders, politicians, public figures and European royals, as well as more than 500 dignitaries from around the world, will be in London to pay their last respects to Britain’s longest reigning monarch, who died on 8 September at the age of 96.
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