Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa has refused an invitation to the royal wedding to be held on April 29, 2011, at Westminster Abbey, amidst widespread criticism. Many human rights organizations and activists had voiced the displeasure at the invitation to a key member of the royal family which crushed the pro-democratic protests in the small island state in a very high handed manner albeit with the help of foreign troops.
This was seen as a case of double standards as the British were extending an invitation to a member of a royal family accused of gross human rights violations while fighting to uphold the same human rights of the Libyans.
The British view was that all royal families were to be invited without discrimination and being an ally, the al-Khalifa clan could never be dropped. But the invitation should have been an embarrassment to the Crown itself. The British may have asked the prince not to attend due to the precarious situation they were in.
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