PM Lapid reportedly won’t attend burial; president signs condolence book for Elizabeth II, says she was ‘icon of stability and beacon of morality,’ wishes King Charles III success
President Isaac Herzog is expected to represent Israel at Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in London on September 19, multiple Hebrew media outlets reported on Saturday.
There was no immediate official confirmation from Herzog’s office, although Israel’s UK envoy was quoted as saying the matter was confirmed.
The reports also said it was decided Saturday that Prime Minister Yair Lapid — who is expected to land a day later in New York for the UN General Assembly — will not attend the British queen’s funeral.
“We know President Herzog will definitely come for the funeral, and we hope that the prime minister will also be able to come,” the Ynet news site quoted Israeli Ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely as saying on Saturday, with the report adding that the remark was made before it was decided Lapid wouldn’t attend.
Also Saturday, Herzog, Israel’s formal head of state, signed a book of condolence for the Queen at the British ambassador’s residence in Tel Aviv.
According to a statement published by Herzog’s office, the president wrote in the book: “On behalf of the State and the People of Israel, I express my deepest condolences on the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, whose reign was momentous and historic.
“She was an icon of stability and beacon of morality in the service of her people. May G-d bless King Charles III and may he reign in peace,” the message read.
Herzog added a biblical verse from the Book of Proverbs: “The king by justice establishes the land.”
Details on the 96-year-old queen’s funeral will be released later, but organizers on Saturday described the ceremony as a “fitting farewell to one of the defining figures of our times.”
Earlier Saturday, two days after his mother’s death elevated him to the throne, King Charles III was officially proclaimed Britain’s monarch in a pomp-filled ceremony steeped in ancient tradition and political symbolism — and, for the first time, broadcast live online and on air.
As reported by The Times of Israel