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No, Trump wasn’t the only former president not invited to Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral
If Your Time is short
- President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden were invited to Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, but former presidents were not, according to news reports and the White House.
- Former President Donald Trump was not an exception.
"Everyone but Trump invited to royal funeral," reads what looks like a headline to a story.
The supposed article featured in a Sept. 13 Instagram post goes on to include the subheadline "Queen left explicit instructions excluding "that f------- moron." Were it true, it would be a rather shocking revelation about a queen who kept mum about her personal opinions of her high-profile counterparts.
But it’s not true.
The Instagram post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
Searching for the headline, we found no credible news sources but discovered on a meme site a version of the image of the story that included People magazine’s logo.
There’s no such story on the magazine’s website.
Featured Fact-check
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden received an invitation to the funeral, and in the past, presidents have invited their predecessors to join them for high-profile funerals, USA Today reported. But the invitation was for only the Bidens, and Buckingham Palace didn’t give the president permission to bring a delegation with him.
Jimmy Carter told the newspaper he didn’t get an invitation. Spokespeople for Trump and former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton didn’t comment.
Politico reported that it had obtained official documents from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in the United Kingdom that said only heads of state and their spouses or partners from each country have been invited to the funeral.
At a press conference Sept. 12, a reporter asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre whether Biden "would bring any former presidents with him" if he’s allowed.
Jean-Pierre said the decision lay with the United Kingdom’s government.
"The invite was for the president and the first lady only," she said.
We rate claims that everyone but Trump was invited to the queen’s funeral False.
Our Sources
Instagram post, Sept. 13, 2022
White House, Will ex-presidents, including Trump and Obama, attend Queen Elizabeth II's funeral? Not likely, Sept. 12, 2022
Politico, No private jets, no helicopters, and a bus to Westminster Abbey: VIP guidance for queen’s funeral revealed, Sept. 11, 2022
iFunny post, visited Sept. 14, 2022
The White House, Press Gaggle by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, Sept. 12, 2022
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No, Trump wasn’t the only former president not invited to Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral
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