EPAQuite a few world leaders and royals have gathered in Rome for Pope Francis’ funeral.
Among the many most distinguished figures on the Vatican’s St Peter’s Sq. on Saturday morning had been Prince William, US President Donald Trump and his predecessor Joe Biden, Britain’s Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Their attendance comes at a fragile time for worldwide diplomacy, with Trump assembly Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier than the service, in line with Zelensky’s spokesman.
Listed here are some photos of the VIP attendees.
Trump and Zelensky 10 seats aside
Trump was in a front-row seat close to Francis’ coffin, alongside his spouse Melania Trump, throughout the aisle from Macron and his spouse Brigitte.
Intriguingly, he and First Woman Melania had been sitting between two staunch supporters of Ukraine. Estonia’s President Alar Karis was to Melania’s left, and Finland’s Alexander Stubb to Trump’s proper.
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AFPEstonia and Finland are each staunch allies of one other man of the second in attendance – Zelensky, who regarded sombre-faced on the Vatican. He was sitting on the identical row as Macron, separated by a number of different dignitaries.
Zelensky, who has been locked in negotiations and public arguments with Trump in current weeks, was simply 10 seats and one aisle away from him, on the identical row.
ReutersThe seating plan
The VIPs had been in a separate part from the tons of of hundreds of members of the general public who’ve descended on Rome for the occasion.
Dignitaries had been sitting on the the right-hand facet of the sq., subsequent to St Peter’s Basilica.
These with one of the best seats had been Javier Milei, president of Francis’ native Argentina, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Italian President Sergio Mattarella, representing the nation that surrounds the Vatican Metropolis state.
Behind them had been reigning sovereigns, and different delegations had been seated in alphabetical order in French, the official language of diplomacy, on different benches.
Getty PhotosRepresenting British royalty, the Prince of Wales was sitting subsequent to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the service.
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ReutersStarmer was sat within the fifth row along with his spouse Victoria.
Behind the British chief was the World Well being Group’s (WHO) director basic Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
AFP
Getty PhotosFormer US President Joe Biden was seen hand in hand along with his spouse Jill. He was sitting 4 rows behind Trump.
AFPEuropean leaders and royalty
Many European leaders, in addition to royalty from European international locations, had been in attendance.
AFP
AFPEuropean Fee President Ursula von der Leyen was on the proceedings, and was seen chatting with Macron.
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Reuters
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ReutersDifferent political figures and royals attending the Pope’s funeral included:
- Poland President Andrzej Duda
- Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader
- Belgium King Philippe and Queen Mathilde
- German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier
- Croatia President Zoran Milanovic
- Ecuador President Daniel Noboa
- Eire Taoiseach (prime minister) Micheál Martin
- Moldova President Maia Sandu
- Latvia President Edgars Rinkevics
- New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon
- Sweden King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia
- UN Secretary Basic Antonio Guterres
- Queen Mary of Denmark
- China Vice President Chen Chin-Jen
- Jordan King Abdullah II and Queen Rania
- Hungary President Tamas Sulyok and Prime Minister Viktor Orban
- European Council President Antonio Costa
- President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola
