US President Joe Biden traveled to London on Saturday to attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

The state funeral, the first in Britain since the death of Winston Churchill in 1965, will take place at 11:00 (1000 GMT) on Monday at Westminster Abbey in London.

Biden, along with around 2,000 other guests, will be among several hundred leaders from around the world attending the somber and historic event.

While the leaders of the European Union, France, Japan and many other countries will attend, the leaders of Russia, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Syria and North Korea were not invited.

On Sunday, Biden will attend a ceremony hosted by King Charles III. attend the organized reception, the White House announced. The two men spoke by phone on Wednesday, with Biden pledging to preserve the “special relationship” between their countries.

A meeting Biden was scheduled to hold on Monday with new Prime Minister Liz Truss at her Downing Street residence has been cancelled, US and UK officials have announced, but the two will instead meet in New York on Wednesday, when both arrive to attend the annual United Nations General Assembly.

World leaders began gathering in London on Saturday to prepare for Monday’s funeral.

Her presence – along with that of hundreds of thousands of mourners from across the UK and around the world – poses an exceptional challenge for British police.

It will be London’s biggest police event ever, the city’s Metropolitan Police Force said on Friday.

More than 2,000 officers were drafted from across the country to support Scotland Yard.

After the funeral, the Queen’s coffin will be taken in a royal hearse for a funeral service at Windsor Castle, west of London.

This will be followed by a family-only funeral, with the Queen buried alongside her late husband Philip, her parents and younger sister.