A well-known joke from the classic BBC program "Yes, Mr. Prime Minister" holds that state funerals are the best time to close political and policy deals under the nose of the media.
It seems that these days, when Britain is wrapped in mourning for the death of Queen Elizabeth II, prove once again that the series is not far from reality.
Hundreds of heads of state and senior diplomats arrived in London in the last day, in what has already been hailed as the largest diplomatic summit in decades.
Outwardly, the invitees will of course not deal with the affairs of the day, but behind the scenes the assumption is that quite a few bilateral meetings will take place, many of which could only take place under such extraordinary circumstances.
Thus, for example, President Yitzhak Herzog, who represents Israel at events, will participate tonight in the special gathering hosted by King Charles at Buckingham Palace - an event in which many world leaders will participate, including those from countries with which Israel has no official relations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, photo: AFP
While the Queen herself has always been careful to maintain her image as someone who is "above politics", the summit seems to be becoming a show of power for Britain and its various interests around the world.
At the top of the list of non-invited guests is Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is assigned to London due to the war in Ukraine.
During the time of the previous Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Great Britain stood at the head of the supporters of Kiev, and this policy is not expected to change now under the new Prime Minister Liz Truss.
Ukraine will be represented by the wife of President Volodymyr Zelensky, Olena Zelenska, who arrived on a quick visit to the British capital.
According to senior officials in London, Britain intends to present Zelenska's visit as evidence of the support of the international community in general, and Western countries in particular, in Ukraine.
Belarus, Russia's ally, is also on the non-invited list due to its support for the war.
In Moscow, they reacted angrily to the British conduct: "This is a cynical and immoral exploitation of national grief for political purposes," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow said.
Another political front is in the Middle East arena: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's invitation to events, for the first time since the murder of Saudi-American journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in 2018, is causing outrage among quite a few circles in Britain.
Human rights organizations criticized his invitation, claiming that the queen's funeral would be used to "whitewash" his image and as proof that despite the heavy suspicions that he ordered the journalist's murder, he was welcomed back into the fold of the international community.
Khashoggi's widow defined his invitation as "a shame and a stain on the Queen's memory."
Mohammed bin Salman, photo: AFP
However, it seems that, similar to the recent visit of the President of the United States Joe Biden to Saudi Arabia, in Britain they prefer to put aside the moral issues for the time being and strengthen the ties with Riyadh, mainly in view of the perception that sees it as one of the main rivals against the growing power of Iran in the region.
London-Tehran relations are at a low ebb, and as evidence of this, Iran is among the few countries that will be represented at events at the low level of an ambassador only - alongside designated countries such as North Korea and Nicaragua.
The Assad regime in Syria, an ally of Tehran, and the Taliban ruling Afghanistan were also left out of the list of invitees.
The royal funeral also creates tension in relations with China.
Although Beijing was fully invited to the events and will be represented by Vice President Wang Chi-shan, the growing tensions with Taiwan and accusations of human rights violations against the Uyghur minority threaten to deteriorate relations between the countries.
A group of British MPs at the weekend prevented a Chinese delegation from entering Westminster Hall to pay their respects in front of the Queen's coffin, in a move that sparked unusual public tension between London and Beijing.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said that they consider the incident a "distinct discourtesy" and called on Britain to "go back and follow the accepted diplomatic rules."
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