Real Reason Why William Wasn’t Seated With Other Senior Royals at Pope’s Funeral — But Got Third Row

Prince William flew from London to Vatican City for Pope Francis’s funeral on April 26. Representing the Crown on behalf of King Charles, he joined other world leaders and dignitaries for the solemn service. Despite his international stature, William was seated several rows behind the main cluster of royals, which piqued the interest of netizens. However, the seating arrangement wasn't a snub, rather quite the opposite, based on the French alphabetical order.

William was seated in the third row, with the Jordanian royals one row in front of him. As reported by The Mirror, the seating plan was a ‘master plan’ in managing the ‘big egos’ of world leaders by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the leader of Catholics in England and Wales. Moreover, French was also considered the language of diplomacy, while shaking up the order that an English speaker would expect. The seating for the dignitaries was executed as reigning sovereigns, heads of state, and heads of government.

In an interview, Cardinal Nichols said that the funeral will be “without a doubt another masterpiece of stage management when you consider those state leaders who have high opinions of their importance.” He explained, “I’ve seen it here over and over again that the combination of Rome and the Holy See, they actually are geniuses at dealing with these big events. I think they’ve been doing it since the emperors ruled Rome – that they know how to deal with big egos.” According to the French alphabetical order, US President Donald Trump appears first in the line-up because America is listed as ‘Etats-Unis d'Amerique’. William, on the other hand, was seated on the third line as the UK is translated as ‘Royaume-Uni.’

During the solemn service, the Prince of Wales sat beside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. As per BBC, those with the best seats were Javier Milei, president of Francis' native Argentina, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Italian President Sergio Mattarella. POTUS Donald was near the Pope’s coffin, alongside his wife Melania Trump, across the aisle from French President Emmanuel Macron. As for William's appearance at the event, he reportedly violated the unofficial dress code when he wore a navy blue suit to the service instead of a black one. However, according to the Irish Star, people from the Non-Catholic faiths may not strictly don black attire, but it remains accepted as appropriate funeral wear across many cultures. The Prince of Wales, belonging to the Church of England, which separated from the Catholic church in 1534, hence, could be lax with the dress protocol.

Commenting on Charles's absence from the event, in an article for Vanity Fair, royal expert Kate Nicholl explained he didn't “travel to the Vatican, in accordance with protocol and precedence which dictates that the Sovereign does not attend funerals.” She pointed out that Charles, when prince, had also attended Pope John Paul II’s funeral in 2005 on behalf of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, much like William.