OTTAWA — Canada is sending a handful of celebrities to the Queen’s state funeral on Monday in London, England, alongside its official delegation.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Governor General Mary Simon and their spouses are leading the delegation departing on Friday, although it’s unclear if all guests will be traveling on the same plane.
The group will include former governors-general Michaëlle Jean and David Johnston, and former prime ministers Kim Campbell, Jean Chrétien, Paul Martin and Stephen Harper.
The prime minister’s office did not respond to a question about whether it had invited Simon’s immediate predecessor, Julie Payette, who resigned in January 2021 amid workplace harassment allegations.
The delegation at Westminster Abbey will include RoseAnne Archibald, First Nations Assembly national leader, Natan Obed, President of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, and Cassidy Caron, President of the Métis National Council.
The Secretary of the Privy Council, Janice Charette, will be in attendance, as will Canada’s High Commissioner for the UK, Ralph Goodale. An unspecified number of military and RCMP officers will join their uniformed counterparts from other Commonwealth countries.
Meanwhile, former Olympian Mark Tewksbury, musician Gregory Charles, actress Sandra Oh and Decorated Coast Guard Officer Leslie Arthur Palmer will join a procession of recipients of national honors.
The Sept. 19 funeral is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. local time, or 6 a.m. ET.
A national memorial ceremony for former Prime Ministers Brian Mulroney and Joe Clark will be held Monday at Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on September 15, 2022.
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