President Isaac Herzog is scheduled to fly to London on Sunday as Israel's representative at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. He will be accompanied by his wife Michal.
Herzog will express condolences to King Charles III on his own behalf and on behalf of the people of Israel. Herzog previously met the king at Highgrove House, London in November, last year when the latter was still the Prince of Wales.
Both men have a keen interest in climate change and in reducing toxic emissions. This was the main subject of their conversation during Herzog's official visit to the UK. They also discussed regional issues, existential threats and the importance of education related to the Holocaust.
During his two-day sojourn in London, Herzog will attend the reception which the king will host for heads of state and members of royal families who will be in London to attend the funeral.
Former visits by the UK's new king
As a prince, Charles came to Israel to attend the funerals of former prime ministers Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres.
Most recently, he was in Israel on his first official visit in January 2020, when he came to participate in the Fifth World Holocaust Forum which coincided with the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
During that visit, he also took the opportunity to pay his respects at the tomb of his paternal grandmother Princess Alice, recognized by Yad Vashem as Righteous among the Nations. Princess Alice is buried in the Russian Orthodox Church on the Mount of Olives. Prince William visited the grave when he was in Israel in 2018, and Prince Philip, the king’s father, visited the grave in 1994, and planted a tree at Yad Vashem in his mother’s memory.
Herzog, who is due to return to Israel on Monday night, will on Tuesday host a pre-Rosh Hashanah reception replete with apples and honey for resident heads of foreign diplomatic missions.