The British have drawn up a caste system for world leaders attending the Queen’s funeral on Monday, with select top-of-the-range folk allowed to arrive in their own limousines at Westminster Abbey but lesser personalities will be bussed in.

The British have advised dignitaries to keep their delegations to a minimum. In any case, the allocation is “world leader plus one”.

Also, dignitaries have been urged to forgo private jets and instead use commercial flights. And on Monday morning they would be bussed in collectively from a point in west London.

The suggestion that President Joe Biden would put up with such restrictions was met with derision by US government sources. Air Force One normally uses Stansted airport, with the President making use of a helicopter and an armour-plated limousine nicknamed “The Beast”.

And this is what Biden will use.

According to the website Politico, one foreign ambassador based in London sent a WhatsApp message that read: “Can you imagine Joe Biden on the bus?”

Timothy Miller, a security specialist and former US secret service agent, was blunter still. “The bottom line is the President of the US would never fly commercial and/or ride on a bus,” he said.

The British seem really bothered that former President Donald Trump, who has a fan base among Right-wing commentators in the UK, appears not to have been invited.

After a gushing tribute to the late Queen, many expected him to receive a suitable reward. He had described his own encounter with the Queen as “the most extraordinary honour of my life”.

He added: “The whole of civilisation is in mourning. The passing of Queen Elizabeth II, the enlightened monarch who reigned over the United Kingdom for 70 years, is a loss felt by billions around the world.”

Liz Truss, the British Prime Minister, is being a little coy about which leaders make the A-list and the others who constitute the also-rans.

Her spokeswoman said: “Arrangements for different leaders will vary.”

Westminster Abbey has room for 2,000 people. With extra chairs, this can be pushed up to 2,200.

Roughly a quarter of the seats have been allocated to world leaders and to royalty from across Europe. The Queen had many relatives, as a result no European royal, however minor, is being left out.

In some ways, the list of leaders who have not been invited — led by President Vladimir Putin of Russia, and followed by Belarus’ Aleksandr Lukashenko, Min Aung Hlaing of Myanmar and Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei — is more interesting.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, who has been implicated in the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, has been invited in the hope he won’t turn up.

India is to be represented by President Droupadi Murmu, the MEA in Delhi has announced. She is invited to a reception King Charles is hosting for visiting dignitaries.