{"id":94593,"date":"2025-05-12T05:50:17","date_gmt":"2025-05-12T05:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/94593\/"},"modified":"2025-05-12T05:50:17","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T05:50:17","slug":"king-charles-and-prince-william-wont-attend-pope-leo-xivs-inauguration-heres-who-buckingham-palace-is-sending-instead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/94593\/","title":{"rendered":"King Charles and Prince William Won&#8217;t Attend Pope Leo XIV&#8217;s Inauguration \u2014 Here&#8217;s Who Buckingham Palace Is Sending Instead"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul class=\"mb-4\">\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">King Charles and Prince William will not attend the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Instead, Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, will represent His Majesty at the Vatican City ceremony on May 18, in line with previous royal tradition<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The King did, however, send well wishes to the newly elected pontiff on his and Queen Camilla&#8217;s behalf<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/person\/king-charles-iii\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:King Charles;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">King Charles<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/tag\/prince-william\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Prince William;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Prince William<\/a> will not attend the inauguration of <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/new-pope-name-leo-xiv-history-11730219\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Pope Leo XIV;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Pope Leo XIV<\/a>. Instead, Buckingham Palace is sending someone else: <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/tag\/prince-edward\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Prince Edward;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Prince Edward<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The Duke of Edinburgh, 61, will represent His Majesty at the inauguration, a spokesperson for Buckingham Palace confirms to PEOPLE. The ceremony will be held on May 18 in St. Peter\u2019s Square in the Vatican City, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vaticannews.va\/en\/pope\/news\/2025-05\/inaugural-mass-of-pope-leo-xiv-to-be-held-on-may-18.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Vatican News;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Vatican News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The King, 76, has already sent well wishes to the newly elected Pope Leo XIV, the 267th pope of the Roman Catholic Church and <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/cardinal-robert-prevost-announced-pope-leo-xiv-2025-papal-conclave-11727596\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:first-ever American pontiff;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">first-ever American pontiff<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">According to Buckingham Palace, the British monarch sent a private message congratulating the pope on his and <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/person\/queen-camilla\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Queen Camilla;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Queen Camilla<\/a>\u2019s behalf, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hellomagazine.com\/royalty\/831251\/king-charles-prince-william-miss-pope-leo\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Hello! Magazine;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Hello! Magazine<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-14698193\/King-Charles-wont-Pope-Leo-XIV-inauguration.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:The Daily Mail;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">The Daily Mail<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Gilbert Carrasquillo\/GC Images Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/aa0081da2aa018350129f006629d401b.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Gilbert Carrasquillo\/GC Images<\/p>\n<p> Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Edward \u2014 who King Charles <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/royals\/prince-edward-prince-charles-duke-of-edinburgh\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:named as the new Duke of Edinburgh;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">named as the new Duke of Edinburgh<\/a> back in 2023 \u2014 will be the latest royal to represent the King, his older brother, in the Vatican.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In April, William, 42, <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/prince-william-attends-pope-francis-funeral-11721341\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:attended the late Pope Francis\u2019 funeral;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">attended the late Pope Francis\u2019 funeral<\/a> in Vatican City, a duty that typically falls on the heir to the throne. The prince represented the British royal family and the King at the April 26 ceremony, which <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/donald-melania-trump-attend-pope-francis-funeral-11720647\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:was also attended by other royals;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">was also attended by other royals<\/a>, foreign dignitaries and religious leaders.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">As heir, Charles previously represented his mother, <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/tag\/queen-elizabeth\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Queen Elizabeth;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Queen Elizabeth<\/a>, at the 2005 funeral of Pope John Paul II. (That funeral even forced the royal to push back his wedding to Camilla by one day, so he and others could attend.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Meanwhile, the late Queen Elizabeth never attended a funeral service for a pope, despite the fact that four \u2014 Pius XII, John XXIII, Paul VI and John Paul I \u2014 died during her 70-year reign. No one from the British royal family attended the 2023 funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Antonio Masiello\/Getty Prince William at the funeral of Pope Francis on April 26\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/d612a90ec5081b9c8a09b0a61aa7ffc3.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Antonio Masiello\/Getty<\/p>\n<p> Prince William at the funeral of Pope Francis on April 26<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">As for previous papal inaugurations, Francis\u2019 2013 ceremony was attended by the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. The late <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/tag\/prince-philip\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Prince Philip;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Prince Philip<\/a>, meanwhile, represented the Queen at the inauguration of <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/human-interest\/pope-benedict-xvi-life-in-photos\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Pope Benedict XVI;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Pope Benedict XVI<\/a> back in 2005.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong>Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/people-news-daily-newsletter-sign-up-8692701\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:PEOPLE&#039;s free daily newsletter;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">PEOPLE&#8217;s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The King <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/king-charles-mourns-pope-francis-after-his-death-at-age-88-11718667\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:shared a message;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">shared a message<\/a> following <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/human-interest\/pope-francis-dead\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Pope Francis\u2019 death;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Pope Francis\u2019 death<\/a> on April 21, just a few weeks after he and Camilla <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/king-charles-queen-camilla-meet-pope-francis-after-plan-initially-canceled-11712225\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:met with the late leader on April 9;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">met with the late leader on April 9<\/a>. (Their initial visit was postponed due to the pope\u2019s health at the time.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cMy wife and I were most deeply saddened to learn of the death of Pope Francis,\u201d the monarch said of himself and Camilla, via Buckingham Palace. \u201cOur 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Simone Risoluti - Vatican Media via Vatican Pool\/Getty Pope Leo XIV\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2b5baa426a4eef5190e13f5141ad68e3.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Simone Risoluti &#8211; Vatican Media via Vatican Pool\/Getty<\/p>\n<p> Pope Leo XIV<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cHis 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,\u201d King Charles continued his tribute. \u201cHis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Recalling his numerous visits to Pope Francis throughout the years, the monarch added, \u201cWe were greatly moved to have been able to visit him earlier in the month.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Read the original article on <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/king-charles-and-prince-william-wont-attend-pope-leo-xiv-inauguration-11732578\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:People;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">People<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"King Charles and Prince William will not attend the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV Instead, Prince Edward, the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":94594,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7708],"tags":[7709,2633,7714,7713,21076,533,1760,44450,21946,42377,41442,2832,532,2831,2607,7710,519,44448,7711,44449,7712],"class_list":{"0":"post-94593","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-royals","8":"tag-british-royal-family","9":"tag-buckingham-palace","10":"tag-catherine","11":"tag-catherine-middleton","12":"tag-duke-of-edinburgh","13":"tag-kate-middleton","14":"tag-king-charles","15":"tag-pope-emeritus-benedict-xvi","16":"tag-pope-francis","17":"tag-pope-leo","18":"tag-pope-leo-xiv","19":"tag-prince-of-wales","20":"tag-prince-william","21":"tag-princess-of-wales","22":"tag-queen-camilla","23":"tag-royal-families","24":"tag-royal-family","25":"tag-the-duke-of-edinburgh","26":"tag-uk-royal-family","27":"tag-vatican-city","28":"tag-william"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114493300715455317","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94593"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94593\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/94594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}