AMBASSADORS from pariah states including North Korea, Iran and Zimbabwe have been invited to the royal wedding. Even Colonel Muammar Gadaffi’s ambassador in London was initially told he could attend. But last night, after being contacted by The Sunday Times, the Foreign Office said the offer had been withdrawn.
Whi leP rin c e Wi l lia m and Ka te Middleton have had to choose carefully which of their friends to invite to the ceremony, the Foreign Office has asked representatives from some of the world’s most notorious dictatorships to attend.
Invitations have been extended to all dignitaries accredited to the Court of St James’s and with a “working relationship” with the British government. They include North Korea’s ambassador, Iran’s interim chargé d’affaires and Zimbabwe’s ambassador.
The Libyan ambassador, Omar Jelban, was told in March that he could attend; however, his invitation has been withdrawn as a result of the war in Libya.
The chosen envoys will form part of the 200-strong guest list drawn up by the government, among the 1,900 guests invited to the ceremony at Westminster Abbey on April 29.
At Buckingham Palace 650 dignitaries have been invited to the wedding breakfast. It is understood that 50 of these guests have been invited by the Queen, 250 by Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall and 100 by the Middletons.
Timur Kuanyshev, a Kazakh entrepreneur, is among a number of tycoons expected to be on the list. Kuanyshev made a fortune from oil and construction businesses and was once part of a group allegedly detained by Russian customs for trying to leave Moscow with $1m in undeclared cash concealed in their underwear. He has made generous donations to the Royal Opera House and other cultural causes.
The couple have personally invited Jon Zammett, head of public relations for Audi. The German car manufacturer has supplied cars to the royal family for the past decade at a discount and has also made large donations to the princes’ favourite charities and paid to host polo tournaments.
The Middleton family’s black sheep, Kate’s uncle Gary Goldsmith, once filmed by a tabloid apparently chopping lines of cocaine and boasting of his royal connections, is one of 15 family members invited.
Kate has invited Rupert Finch, her old flame from university, and Willem Marx, a boyfriend from school. William has invited his former girlfriends Isabella -Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe Arabella Musgrave, Jecca Craig and Rose Farquhar.
The couple are understood to have asked a select 300 guests to stay on for a late night party, to be held in an impromptu nightclub that will be set up in some of the state rooms. Charles will host a dinner that is being prepared by the Swiss chef Anton Mosimann.
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