As Pope Francis passed away on April 21, 2025 at the age of 88 years, Prince William will be traveling to the Vatican to attend his funeral as King Charles is not allowed to do the same. As written by Royal expert Katie Nicholl in Vanity Fair, King Charles, “will not travel to the Vatican, in accordance with protocol and precedence which dictates that the Sovereign does not attend funerals, Buckingham Palace has confirmed.”
This is not the first time that an heir will be attending the funeral of a Pope as Cosmopolitan reported “back in 2005, then-Prince Charles attended Pope John Paul II’s funeral instead of Queen Elizabeth.”
King Charles and Queen Camilla however, did meet the Pope for one last time before his passing. They went to the Vatican two weeks back as part of their Italy tour. They met the Pope at Casa Santa and as the couple was celebrating their 20th anniversary, they also received a gift from the Pope.
After receiving the news of Pope Francis’ passing, King Charles released a statement that read, “My wife and I were most deeply saddened to learn of the death of Pope Francis. Our heavy hearts have been somewhat eased, however, to know that His Holiness was able to share an Easter Greeting with the Church and the world he served with such devotion throughout his life and ministry.”
The statement further mentioned, “His Holiness will be remembered for his compassion, his concern for the unity of the Church and for his tireless commitment to the common causes of all people of faith, and to those of goodwill who work for the benefit of others.”
King Charles also added, “His belief that care for Creation is an existential expression of faith in God resounded with so many across the world. Through his work and care for both people and planet, he profoundly touched the lives of so many.”
It should be noted here that Pope Francis had stood out for his open and more liberal views and that had led him to having publicly opposing views from the American VP JD Vance, who also met the Pope just the day before Pope Francis passed away. While the Pope was rather critical of the Donald Trump administration’s way of dealing with immigrants and the recent development regarding the deportation polices, his meeting with Vance remained civil.
After Pope Francis’ death, the process for electing a new Pope is in progress and the same will be done following the rules and regulations of the Vatican. The funeral of Pope Francis will be held on April 26, 2025 at St Peter’s Basilica and world leaders like UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, American President Donald Trump will attend it along with Prince William representing the Royals.
