Amitabh Bachchan turns down Queen Elizabeth’s invitation to India Year of Culture launch

Queen Elizabeth II is to host the UK-India Year of Culture launch at the Buckingham Palace and extended an invitation to Amitabh Bachchan to grace the event with his presence. However, Big B will not be able to attend the event due to his choco-o-bloc schedule. The Queen and Prince Philip, the Duke Of Edinburgh have hosted this event with the crème de la crème in attendance.

A source close to a leading tabloid revealed, "Prior commitments are making it impossible for him to fly to London for the gala. He has already extended his regret to the invitation, citing pre-scheduled commitments, but is honoured to receive a special invite from Buckingham Palace."

Big B's publicist too confirmed the news to a leading tabloid, and said, "Yes, Mr Bachchan has been extended a rare invitation by Queen Elizabeth and Buckingham Palace to grace the UK-India Cultural Year reception. Unfortunately, however, he will be unable to attend due to prior commitments."

Amitabh Bachchan has a tight schedule ahead of 'Sarkar 3' trailer launch which is to be held in March. He is also prepping up for his character in Vijay Krishna Acharya’s 'Thugs of Hindostan' alongside Aamir Khan. Big B also will start prepping for 'Aankhen 2', whereas his other projects also include Ayan Mukerji's 'Dragon' which also stars Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor.