Prince William will attend the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday on behalf of his father, King Charles.
On Friday, an official listing revealed the seating plan for the late pontiff’s funeral, including which royal the Prince of Wales will be sitting with. As William is not the monarch of the United Kingdom, he is further down the “order of precedence”, meaning that he won’t be sitting with royals like Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia or Belgium’s King Philippe and Queen Mathilde.
Instead, the heir to the throne is due to sit with Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon, who alongside his wife, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, will be representing Norway.
Although it’s not been confirmed why King Harald of Norway won’t be in attendance, earlier this week, his wife, Queen Sonja, was airlifted to hospital after she experienced “breathing difficulties”.
© WPA PoolWilliam won’t be the only representative from the United Kingdom as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is due to attend, alongside his wife, Victoria, the Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, the UK’s ambassador to the Vatican, Chris Trott and Sir Keir’s private secretary for foreign affairs, Alisa Terry.
William’s attendance
It was confirmed on Tuesday that William would represent Britain at Pope Francis’ funeral.
© Getty ImagesThe decision is in keeping with modern tradition and will be seen as a major milestone in William’s role as a global statesman and future king.
Charles as the Prince of Wales went to Pope John Paul II’s funeral, representing his mother the late Queen, in 2005.
The Princess of Wales’ absence
While it has not been officially confirmed why the Princess of Wales won’t be joining her husband at the event, when Charles went to Pope John Paul II’s funeral in 2005, he wasn’t joined by Camilla, who he was due to marry at the time.
© GettyThe royal mum-of-three will also have family commitments. Earlier this week, the family celebrated Prince Louis’ seventh birthday, while Princess Charlotte will be turning ten next week.
Francis’ death
Pope Francis died on Easter Monday at the age of 88, after being hospitalised with double pneumonia and a complex lung infection. His official cause of death was listed as a stroke which led to cardiac arrest.
His death was announced by Cardinal Kevin Farrell in a statement released by the Vatican. It read: “Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis.
© Getty“At 7.35am this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and His Church.
“He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage and universal love, especially in favour of the poorest and most marginalised.
© Alamy Stock Photo“With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the One and True God.”
Just weeks before the late pontiff’s death, he had met with King Charles and Queen Camilla during their state visit to Italy. During the 20-minute meeting, they exchanged gifts and the Pope wished them a happy anniversary.
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