DUBAI // Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, will attend Britain's royal wedding on Friday, his office confirmed yesterday.
He was named on an official list released on Saturday of the guests attending the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
The Crown Prince's Court confirmed yesterday Sheikh Mohammed would be in attendance.
The British ambassador, Dominic Jermey, welcomed the news as a sign of strong relations between the two countries.
"It also underlines the excellent relationship between our royal families, as demonstrated by the visit of Her Majesty the Queen to the UAE at the end of last year," he added.
Queen Elizabeth was welcomed to the UAE in November by Sheikh Mohammed, who later described her and the Duke of Edinburgh, her husband, as "great guests" to the UAE.
Sheikh Mohammed has been a close friend of the Duke of York, Prince Andrew, since the pair met as children at Gordonstoun School in Scotland. The Emirati royal also attended Sandhurst Military Academy, from which Prince William graduated five years ago.
He will be among 46 foreign royals at the ceremony on Friday and will be seated in the South Lantern of the Westminster Abbey alongside 52 members of the British royal family. The ceremony begins at 11am.
About 1,900 people have been invited to the ceremony, 650 to a lunchtime reception with the Queen and 300 people to an evening dinner with Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace. It is not known whether Sheikh Mohammed has been invited to either of the reception parties.
Other guests from the region include Sheikh Ahmad al Hamoud al Sabah, cousin of the emir of Kuwait; Prince Salman bin Hamad al Khalifa, Crown Prince of Bahrain; Sayyid Haitham al Said, the Omani minister of culture and heritage in Oman; Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani, emir of Qatar, and his wife Sheikah Mozah bint Nasser al Missned.
Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, the Saudi ambassador to the UK and Ireland, will also attend.
mcroucher@thenational.ae
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
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Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
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Group B
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