The British Embassy says Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa is expected to attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral funeral on Monday.
In a tweet, the Embassy dismissed as “fake” a letter purportedly written by King Charles III indicating that Mnangagwa won’t be invited to attend the queen’s funeral at West Minister Abbey due to travel restrictions imposed by the West on him and other Zanu PF official for alleged electoral fraud and human rights violations.
The state-controlled Herald newspaper also reports that Mnangagwa will attend the queen’s funeral.
Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said, "... If there’s anything circulating implying a leader request to attend, that would be fake. Zimbabwe is definitely on the list of countries to be invited to the funeral. The list has been there for a long time under Operation London Bridge that details every process from her death to burial. Zimbawe is one of the countries HM the Queen visited at least twice."
Mnangagwa is expected to send his Foreign Affairs Minister, Federick Shava, to London as he will be at the United Nations General Assembly in NewYork, USA, next week.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press, Agence France Press and Reuters report that tens of thousands of mourners lined up through the night and into the day Thursday to file past the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Hall.
Aerial video in London showed the mourners lining the banks of the Thames River and across the Tower Bridge, stretching an estimated 5.6 kilometers. Officials expect 750,000 people to pay their respects before the queen's official funeral on Monday.
The hall will be open 23 hours a day for visitors and will be guarded by soldiers from the royal household.