Prince William to attend Pope's funeral on behalf of King Charles as world leaders to gather in Vatican City
22 April 2025, 13:58 | Updated: 22 April 2025, 18:03
The Prince of Wales is to attend the Pope's funeral on behalf of the King, Kensington Palace has announced.
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Heir to the throne William, a future head of the Church of England, will represent his father by travelling to Vatican City for Pope Francis's funeral mass in St Peter's Square on Saturday.
He will join world leaders such as Donald Trump, Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The decision to send William is in keeping with modern tradition and will be seen as a major milestone in his 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.
Queen Elizabeth II never attended the funeral of a pontiff, the head of the Roman Catholic Church.
Kensington Palace said: "The Prince of Wales will attend the funeral of Pope Francis, on behalf of His Majesty The King."
The Prince of Wales will attend the funeral of Pope Francis, on behalf of His Majesty The King, it was announced today.
The funeral will take place on Saturday, but his body will go on public display from Wednesday for mourners to pay their respects.
The news from the Vatican came as the first images of the late pontiff were published.
The Vatican has released new photos of Pope Francis in an open coffin.
He was pictured lying in a wooden coffin, dressed in red with rosary beads draped across his hands.
Details of Francis's funeral have also been confirmed, with mass to take place at 10am local time on Saturday, celebrated by the dean of the College of Cardinals.
Francis died after a cerebral stroke that led to a coma and irreversible heart failure, the Vatican said on Monday.
The funeral will take place on Saturday, but his body will go on public display from Wednesday for mourners to pay their respects.
The news from the Vatican came as the first images of the late pontiff were published showing the Pope in an open wooden coffin, dressed in red with rosary beads draped across his hands.
Details of Francis's funeral have also been confirmed, with mass to take place at 10am local time on Saturday, celebrated by the dean of the College of Cardinals.
Francis died after a cerebral stroke that led to a coma and irreversible heart failure, the Vatican said on Monday.
List of leaders who have announced their intentions to attend the funeral so far:
- Prince William
- US President Donald Trump
- UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
- EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
- French President Emmanuel Macron
- Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
- Polish President Andrzej Duda
- Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
- Argentinian President Javier Milei
- King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium
Prior to his death, the late Pope had reflected on death in a preface for a new book by Cardinal Angelo Scola 'Awaiting a New Beginning. Reflections on Old Age'.
In it, he wrote: "Death is not the end of everything, but the beginning of something".
He also described death as a "new beginning".
"Because eternal life, which those who love already begin to experience on earth within the daily tasks of life - is beginning something that will never end.
"And it is precisely for this reason that it is a "new" beginning, because we will live something we have never fully lived before: eternity."
A new Pope will be selected in the coming weeks.
The Vatican said on Monday that a special rite confirming the death of the Pope and the placement of his body in its coffin took place that evening.
The official declaration of death was read aloud, and the act was validated by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Catholic church, in a ceremony lasting around an hour.
Seals were also placed on the papal apartment on the third floor of the Apostolic Palace and on the apartment on the second floor of Casa Santa Marta, where the Pope had lived.
Cardinal Farrell will carry out the administrative and financial duties of the Holy See until a new pope takes over.
On Tuesday morning, the first General Congregation of Cardinals will take place, during which a potential date for the funeral may be decided.
The funeral must be held between four and six days after the death, and the date is set to be announced after the cardinals meet on Tuesday morning.
King Charles and Keir Starmer react to the death of Pope Francis
Before the cardinals, senior members of the Catholic Church, convene in the Sistine Chapel for the conclave - the secret meeting at which a new pope will be elected - the Church enters a period called "sede vacante", or "the vacant See".
The Pope's body will remain in the chapel for a few days before being brought for public viewing in St Peter's Basilica, as per new rites Francis approved last year.
The public will likely be able to begin paying their final respects to Francis starting on Wednesday, the Vatican said.
After the funeral, there are nine days of official mourning, known as the "novendiali".
To give everyone time to assemble, the conclave must begin 15 to 20 days after the sede vacante is declared, but it can start sooner if the cardinals agree.
Cardinals, including the Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols, and Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe, from London, will take part in the vote for the next pope.
Both aged 79, the pair are just below the cut-off for voting as part of the conclave.
Only cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to vote in a conclave - they are known as the cardinal electors and their number is limited to 120.
Asked about the next pope at a press conference on Monday, Cardinal Nichols told reporters: "He has to be a man of great inner strength, and I think great inner peace."
He added: "I think those inner capacities of closeness to God and peace are the absolute essentials."
Cardinal Radcliffe said: "I think that we always open ourselves to be surprised. All recent popes have been quite different from each other."
