The king of Bahrain, whose regime has been accused of rights abuses, was among nearly 50 foreign royals at a lunch Friday to mark the diamond jubilee of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.
The official list of royals attending the lunch at Windsor Castle, including King Hamad, whose Gulf island country is gripped by civil unrest following a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests, was only published hours beforehand.
The invitations for the mass gathering of global royalty, greater than that assembled for last year's wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, have caused several diplomatic headaches.
Spain's Queen Sophia pulled out of the lunch earlier this week due to tensions with Britain over the disputed territory of Gibraltar, while there have been protests in London over the inclusion of Swaziland's King Mswati III.
Royals from Brunei, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia were among the guests.
Less controversially, Japan's 78-year-old Emperor Akihito, King Harald V of Norway and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands were among the 17 foreign reigning monarchs who attended.
Buckingham Palace has said that the Foreign Office approved the invitation to King Hamad.
But veteran British lawmaker Dennis MacShane, a former Europe minister, said the Foreign Office should have stopped the queen from having to "dine with a despot".
"Given the amount of blood on the hands of the royal regime in Bahrain, it's a shame he will stain the white linen of Windsor Castle at this event," he said.
An AFP reporter at Windsor said security was low-key and there was no sign of any protest. Indeed, a dozen-strong group waved Bahraini flags.
Around 150 people gathered to see the limousines arrive, and some monarchs waved to the crowds as they went in, while Japanese spectators cheered and bowed to their emperor.
One spectator, Clare, a Windsor woman in her 60s, was using binoculars to identify the flags on the vehicles.
She told AFP: "This is not a political event. It's a great pity that politics had been allowed to intrude. The diamond jubilee is a celebration for the queen."
Queen Elizabeth, 86, and her husband Prince Philip warmly greeted their guests as they arrived.
Inside at a pre-lunch reception, William and Kate chatted to Prince Albert II of Monaco and his wife Charlene, before the guests assembled for a group photo.
The royals were treated to a starter of tartelette of poached egg with English asparagus, followed by a noisette of new season Windsor lamb accompanied by artichokes and peas, carrots and broad beans and spring cabbage and braised potatoes with wild mushrooms.
There were English strawberries and a vanilla charlotte for dessert.
The lunch will be followed by a dinner attended by most of the foreign royals at Buckingham Palace, although King Hamad is not attending the event hosted by Prince Charles, the heir to the throne.
Human rights activists have promised to protest outside the palace against what they called "dictator monarchs".
Britain has close links to Bahrain and has had to tread carefully in diplomatic terms since the unrest broke out.
Prime Minister David Cameron held a meeting with King Hamad at his Downing Street residence in December when he urged him to implement reforms, and offered Britain's support in doing so.
Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa turned down an invitation to William and Kate's wedding following a public outcry in Britain.
Amnesty International says around 60 people have been killed in Bahrain since the anti-regime protests first erupted in February last year.
The lunch is one of the main events in the run-up to four days of celebrations spanning June 2-5 to mark the queen's 60th year on the throne.
hilary duff michigan state michigan state city creek center andrew luck pro day josh johnson kim kardashian flour
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.