The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, said that the short notice made security arrangements difficult and that the high cost of the trip proved prohibitive. A delegation headed by Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein is representing Israel.
Pope Francis and
other pontiffs do not attend the funerals of state leaders, the Vatican
says. Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana, the president of the Pontifical
Council for Justice and Peace, is the Pope's special envoy to pay
tribute to the former South African president. 
Tibetan spiritual
leader the Dalai Lama has applied for a visa to South Africa twice since
2009 but was not issued one on either occasion. The Chinese government
regularly warns foreign governments that the Dalai Lama's presence could
harm relations with Beijing. 
The 87-year-old
Queen Elizabeth II of Britain has been advised against long flights and
intensive travel whenever possible. Prince Charles will formally
represent the Queen at Mandela's funeral on Sunday. 
Mandela's longtime
friend Fidel Castro, center, has not traveled outside Cuba since the
health crisis that caused him to step down from office unofficially in
2006; he officially handed over the presidency in 2008. His brother,
President Raul Castro, will attend the state funeral. (CNN) -- Four past or present United States presidents are among the nearly 100 world leaders joining celebrities and tens of thousands of South Africans to celebrate the life of Nelson Mandela Tuesday -- but some of the world's best-known leaders are not there.
Some are staying home for health reasons, like Queen Elizabeth II and former Cuban President Fidel Castro.
Pope Francis isn't coming because of protocol -- popes simply don't attend the funerals of world leaders.
The situation with the Dalai Lama is a little more tricky.
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The Tibetan spiritual
leader -- who is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, as is Mandela -- was not
granted a visa to visit South Africa the last two times he applied,
likely because of pressure from China.
He last tried to visit in 2011, for the 80th birthday celebrations of Desmond Tutu.
The South African
archbishop lashed out at his government for failing to grant the Dalai
Lama permission to enter, comparing it to the apartheid regime he and
Mandela worked to overturn.
And the Dalai Lama predicted that, denied the visa, he would never see Mandela again.
The Tibetan said at the
time he was "very much hoping to see Nelson Mandela, (who is) now very
old. Now I have doubt whether I will have the occasion to meet Nelson
Mandela or not."
Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu is staying away, officially, for more prosaic reasons
-- his office cited the cost of the trip and the difficulty of
organizing security on such short notice.
A delegation headed by
Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein will stand in for the Israeli leader.
Likewise, Prince Charles of Wales will formally represent the Queen and
Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana attends on behalf of the Pope.
Mandela, the former South African president and 1993 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, died Thursday at the age of 95.
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