The Queen's lunch for monarchs attracts controversy

The King of Bahrain and Swaziland's King Mswati III are among controversial monarchs expected at a Windsor Castle lunch being hosted by the Queen later.

Critics accuse Bahrain of human rights abuses and say King Mswati lives in luxury while his people starve.

Campaigner Peter Tatchell criticised The Queen for inviting "royal tyrants to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee".

The Foreign Office said it was having "a full and frank discussion on a range of issues" with Bahrain's government.

Buckingham Palace said it will not comment on the lunch.

It will be followed by an evening banquet, hosted by Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall. Not all the monarchs will be at both events.

Mr Tatchell said the invitations were "a shocking misjudgement" that showed the Queen was "out of touch with the humanitarian values of most British people".

"Inviting blood-stained despots brings shame to our monarchy and tarnishes the Diamond Jubilee celebrations," he said.

"It is a kick in the teeth to pro-democracy campaigners and political prisoners in these totalitarian royal regimes."

Bahrain officials said King Hamad al-Khalifa - whose country is in a state of civil unrest following crackdowns on protests last year - was expected to attend.

What was meant to be a celebratory occasion - a gathering of heads of state who owe their positions to accidents of birth rather than the ballot box - has taken on a political dimension.

First, one queen snubbed another queen's party. Sofia of Spain is now not coming because of Gibraltar - the territory Britain has and Spain wants back.

Then, it was confirmed the King of Bahrain will attend - something his critics argue shouldn't happen because of the way pro-democracy protests have been violently suppressed in the Gulf kingdom.

Also sitting down with the kings, queens, an emperor, a grand duke and an emir will be Mswati III of Swaziland - who, according to his opponents, uses state funds in a poor African country to support a lavish lifestyle for himself and his thirteen wives.

Such occasions are rare. Buckingham Palace is unlikely to want to change that.

Last month, Bahrain Grand Prix organisers were urged to cancel the race amid public unrest in the country and accusations of human rights abuses.

And in April 2011, Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa pulled out of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding amid controversy over human rights.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "On human rights we support the reforms already under way in Bahrain and we want to help promote that reform.

"We have consistently encouraged the Bahraini government to take further urgent steps to implement in full the recommendations of the Independent Commission of Inquiry as his majesty the King has committed to doing.

"This includes bringing to account those individuals responsible for human rights abuses."

On Thursday, former Foreign Office Minister Denis MacShane criticised Bahrain for doing "such terrible things to its own people since the Arab awakening a year ago".

He said Arab nations "must let their citizens vote in free elections and let them speak without fear of arrest, torture or death".

"For too long we have turned a blind eye to the repression carried out under the rule of royals in Arabia - the Foreign Office should protect the British Queen rather than expose her to having to dine with a despot."

On Wednesday, meanwhile, a group of UK-based Swazis protested outside the Savoy hotel, in London, where King Mswati - who is widely accused of profligate spending - is thought to be staying.

The Swazliand Vigil group said it had written to the Queen to ask her to influence the king.

King Mswati is rated by Forbes magazine as the world's 15th richest monarch with a personal fortune of $100m (£62m) - while many of his 1.2 million subjects live in poverty.

Saudi and Kuwaiti royals are also attending the banquet.

Amnesty international has recently highlighted repression in Saudi Arabia, as the authorities there crack down on protesters and reformists.

And Human Rights Watch has criticised Kuwait for the suspension of a daily newspaper and the conviction of its editor for incitement.

Meanwhile, Queen Sofia of Spain will not be attending because of a dispute over fishing rights off Gibraltar, a UK territory that Spain also claims.

The Spanish government statement said it was "hardly appropriate" for the 73-year-old to attend the lunch.

Her husband, King Juan Carlos, had already declined an invitation because he is recovering from a broken hip.

BBC diplomatic correspondent, Bridget Kendall, says that two problems always hung over this Diamond Jubilee lunch list - the possibility of protests at the inclusion of the despots and non democrats among the invited crowned heads of states, and the risk of diplomatic spats intervening.

Gibraltar has been the cause of a no-show by Spain before at a royal occasion. Spanish royalty stayed away from Prince Charles' wedding to Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1981 because the honeymoon was to include a stop in Gibraltar, our correspondent added.

Other members of the British royal family, including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry, the Earl and Countess of Wessex and the Duke of York and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie will also be at the lunch.

The full guest list for the monarchs' lunch is:

HM The King of Bahrain; HRH Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa (Bahrain); HM The King of The Belgians; HM The Queen of The Belgians; HM The Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei; HM Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha (Brunei); HM King Simeon II of the Bulgarians; HM Queen Margarita of the Bulgarians; HM Queen Margrethe II of Denmark; HRH The Prince Consort (Denmark); HM King Constantine of the Hellenes; HM Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes; HM The Emperor of Japan; HM The Empress of Japan; HM The King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; HM Queen of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; HH Sheikh Nasser Mohamed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah of Kuwait.

HM King Letsie III of Lesotho; HM Queen Masenate Mohato Seeiso of Lesotho; HSH Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein; HRH The Grand Duke of Luxembourg; HRH The Grand Duchess of Luxembourg; HM Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia; HM Seri Paduka Baginda Raja Permaisuri of Malaysia; HSH The Prince of Monaco; HSH The Princess of Monaco; HRH Princess Lalla Meryem of Morocco; HM The Queen of the Netherlands; HM The King of Norway; HM The Queen of Norway; HH The Emir of The State of Qatar; HH Sheika Mozah bint Nasser Al-Missned (Qatar).

HM King Michael I of Romania; HM Queen Anne of Romania; HRH Prince Mohammed Bin Nawaf Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia; HM King Mswati III of Swaziland; Inkhosikati LaMbikiza (Swaziland); HM The King of Sweden; HM The Queen of Sweden; HRH The Crown Prince of Thailand; HRH Princess Srirasm of Thailand; HM The King of Tonga; HM The Queen of Tonga; HH The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi; HRH The Crown Prince of Yugoslavia; HRH The Crown Princess of Yugoslavia.