Singapore President Halimah Yacob to attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral
SINGAPORE — Singapore’s President Halimah Yacob and her husband, Mohamed Abdullah Alhabshee, will attend the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on Monday (19 September) in London, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said on Friday.
They will be accompanied by officials from the President’s Office and MFA. During Halimah’s absence, Eddie Teo, Chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisers, will exercise the function of the Office of the President, MFA said.
The Queen died at the age of 96 in Balmoral Castle, Scotland, on 8 September. With her death, her eldest son King Charles III became the British monarch and the head of the Commonwealth.
On the day of the funeral, state flags at all government buildings in Singapore will be flown at half-mast as a mark of respect, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement last Friday. Parliament observed one minute of silence at the beginning of its sitting on Monday (12 September).
“The Prime Minister is deeply saddened by the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Her Majesty was the Head of the Commonwealth, and the very heart and soul of the United Kingdom.
“On behalf of all Singaporeans, the Prime Minister expresses his deepest condolences and sympathies to His Majesty King Charles III and all members of the Royal family, Prime Minister Elizabeth Truss and the British people, and the peoples of the Commonwealth countries,” the PMO said then.
In a post on his Facebook page last Friday, PM Lee Hsien Loong paid tribute to the Queen. He said, “Her contributions to the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth, and indeed to the world will be recorded in history, and she will always be remembered fondly as a great world leader.”
Among the other Singapore leaders and politicians who had paid tribute to the Queen were Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu, Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin, and the Workers' Party's Sengkang MP He Ting Ru.
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