The death of Pope Francis saw the world’s leaders and great dignitaries surrender themselves to a higher power – that of the Vatican’s funeral planners.
Leaders including Volodymyr Zelensky, Donald Trump, Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron are scattered across a seating arrangement described as a ‘master plan’ in stage-managing ‘big egos’.
And while there had been speculation that Trump would be in the third row – which he would have likely seen as a snub – the leader of the free world found himself front and centre for the service.
Alongside Trump and First Lady Melania, other front-row dignitaries include President of Ireland Michael D Higgins, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky – who made a last-minute trip to be there – and Argentina’s Javier Milei, given the top spot.
Milei found himself closest to the Pope’s humble wooden casket because Francis is of Argentine birth, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in December 1936.
Next came Italy, as the Pope is also the bishop of Rome. Italian president Sergio Mattarella and his daughter Laura occupied the seats next to the Argentine leader.
Immediately behind him sat Georgia Meloni, the Prime Minister of Italy.
Standing shoulder to shoulder with the Italian president Mr Mattarella, meanwhile, were the leaders of countries such as Albania and Angola.
1. Michael D Higgins, President of Ireland; 2. Olena Zelenska, First Lady of Ukraine; 3. Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine; 4. Alexander Stubb, President of Finland; 5. Joe Biden, former US President; 6. Jill Biden, former First Lady ; 7. Donald J Trump, US President; 8. Melania Trump, US First Lady; 9. Alar Karis, President of Estonia ; 10. King Felipe VI of Spain; 11. Queen Letizia of Spain; 12. Daniel Noboa, President of Ecuador; 13. Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway; 14. Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway; 15. Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE; 16. Queen Mary of Denmark ; 17. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission
18. Albert II, Prince of Monaco; 19. Charlene, Princess of Monaco; 20. Sir Keir Starmer, UK Prime Minister (with his wife Victoria to the right); 21. Queen Mathilde of Belgium; 22. King Philippe of Belgium;
VIPs and dignitaries were arranged in the top corner of St Peter’s Square – across from cardinals and bishops, seen here in red
Prince William, on the other hand, found himself standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Olaf Scholz, the chancellor of Germany two rows behind Javier Milei and his sister Karina Milei, Argentina’s General Secretary of the Presidency.
William attended on behalf of his father of King Charles III, the United Kingdom’s head of state.
As for Sir Keir, he had to settle for a number of rows back alongside wife Victoria as a head of a government rather than the head of a state – as did the likes of Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission.
The idea that the UK and other countries have been snubbed, or sent further down the pecking order, however, doesn’t quite ring true – as Vatican planners have tried to wield diplomacy in determining the pecking order.
The Vatican seating plan for dignitaries – who are sitting directly across from senior clergy – prioritises reigning monarchs and heads of state over heads of Government: presidents, kings and queens come before prime ministers.
But even then, there is an order beyond priority. Despite designating Latin and Italian as its official languages, the Vatican has arranged its seating plan in French alphabetical order.
This was chosen as, thanks to France’s historical power across the continent, it is still considered the language of European diplomacy.
So the United States becomes les États-Unis; Germany becomes Allemagne, pushing it towards the front of the queue; and the United Kingdom is shoved further back under Royaume-Uni.
This explains why Trump found himself front and centre among around 50 heads of state, and why heads of governments – like Sir Keir – found themselves further back in what may in other circumstances be considered the ‘cheap seats’.
Next to Milei, Joan-Enric Vives i Sicilia, a Catholic prelate and co-Prince of the tiny landlocked nation of Andorra, is standing shoulder to shoulder with Bajram Begaj, the president of Albania, and João Lourenço, president of Angola.
Sir Keir, Lady Victoria and Foreign Secretary David Lammy have found themselves squashed in between dignitaries from Qatar and Serbia.
1. Michael D Higgins, President of Ireland; 2. Olena Zelenska, First Lady of Ukraine; 3. Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine
4. Alexander Stubb, President of Finland; 5. Joe Biden, former US President; 6. Jill Biden, former First Lady ; 7. Donald J Trump, US President; 8. Melania Trump, US First Lady; 9. Alar Karis, President of Estonia ; 10. King Felipe VI of Spain; 11. Queen Letizia of Spain; 12. Daniel Noboa, President of Ecuador; 13. Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway; 14. Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway; 15. Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE; 16. Queen Mary of Denmark ; 17. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission
18. Albert II, Prince of Monaco; 19. Charlene, Princess of Monaco; 20. Sir Keir Starmer, UK Prime Minister (with his wife Victoria to the right); 21. Queen Mathilde of Belgium; 22. King Philippe of Belgium;
23. João Lourenço, President of Angola; 24. Bajram Begaj, President of Albania; 25. Sergio Mattarella, President of Italy; 26. Prince William; 27. Javier Milei, President of Argentina; 28. Olaf Scholz, Chancellor of Germany; 29. Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Italy
The seating arrangements for the Pope’s funeral were an exercise in diplomacy – with heads of state given priority, and their order decided purely by the alphabet, albeit in French (pictured: world leaders during the funeral)
Argentina’s Javier Milei (bottom right, next to a Swiss Guard) was given the first seat of the front row, closest to the coffin, because of the Pope’s Argentine roots. He stood next to his sister, followed by Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella
The Pope’s funeral has been an exercise in diplomacy, in more ways than one (pictured: Emmanuel Macron is seen putting his arm on the shoulder of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in St Peter’s Square)
Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife Olena Zelenska sit in the front row of dignitaries at the Pope’s funeral
Donald Trump and his wife Melania found themselves front and centre – next to the president of Estonia Alar Karis and Spain’s King Felipe. Poland president Andrzej Duda can be seen in the top left, next to his wife Agata, beside Philippines president Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr and his wife Louise
(L/R)The daughter of Italy’s President Laura Mattarella, Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella, General Secretary of the Presidency of Argentina, Karina Milei and Argentina’s President Javier Milei look on during late Pope Francis’ funeral ceremony at St Peter’s Square at the Vatican on April 26, 2025. (Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP) (Photo by FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images)
Prince William – pictured leafing through the 88-page order of service for the Pope’s funeral – found himself sitting alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as a head of state
Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria (circled) had to settle for several rows back because of the Vatican’s decision to put heads of state in front of heads of government
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky met face-to-face before the funeral – two months after their hot-headed face-off at the White House
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the leader of Catholics in England and Wales, said the funeral organisers are well-used to dealing with the sensitivities of such big events.
In an interview with the PA news agency in Rome prior to the funeral, he said 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 added: ‘In the past, 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.
‘And I think every leader of a nation that comes here on Saturday will go home reasonably content.’
Cardinal Nichols will take part in his first conclave to elect a new pope in the coming weeks. Today is the first of nine days of mourning, which must pass before any talk of a new pontiff can begin.
Other VIPs who wished to attend were found space, such as ex-US President – and lifelong Catholic – Joe Biden, who arrived with wife Jill. They were sat around five rows behind Donald Trump and his wife Melania.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said on Friday that no distinction was made between Catholic and non-Catholic royalty for the seating order.
The gathering of world leaders has already prompted rumblings of further diplomacy beyond that conducted by Vatican seat planners this week.
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky sat down and conversed before the funeral – with images showing them deep in conversation in an almost literal tête-à-tête.
Further talks are thought to be in the works after the pair’s hot-headed White House spat in February – as the pair try to hammer out a deal to bring an end to Russia’s three-year invasion of Ukraine.
The pair were also seen chatting with Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer.
Members of the clergy gather ahead of the funeral Mass of Pope Francis, in Saint Peter’s Square, at the Vatican, April 26, 2025 – watched over by a statue of St Peter
A sea of clergy at Pope Francis’ funeral mass in the Vatican. Around 150,000 people were packed into St Peter’s Square before officials sealed the entrances
Hundreds of thousands of people packed out St Peter’s Square and the streets of Rome for Francis’ open-air service, which saw a requiem mass held in Vatican City before the late pontiff’s coffin was driven across the Italian capital to its final resting place.
Francis, heralded as the ‘people’s pope’ due to his focus on society’s neediest, died aged 88 on Monday just hours after greeting crowds to mark Easter.
He lay in state in St Peter’s Basilica for three days, with some 250,000 mourners passing him day and night, before his coffin was formally sealed in private on Friday, with his face covered by a simple white shroud.
From first light, thousands of people made their way along Via della Conciliazione – the grand thoroughfare that leads to the Vatican – singing hymns, praying and swapping stories.
Francis was ‘a pope among the people, with an open heart’, who strove for a more compassionate, open-minded Catholic Church, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re said in his funeral homily.
There was applause as he hailed the pope’s ‘conviction that the Church is a home for all, a home with its doors always open’.
It was ultimately prisoners and migrants who ushered the pope into the St. Mary Major Basilica where he is set to be buried, reflecting his priorities as head of the Catholic Church.
It is the first time in more than 100 years that a Pope has not been buried at the Vatican – but it was not the Pope’s only break with convention.
His casket was a simple wooden casket, lined with zinc and emblazoned with a cross, a far cry from the traditional combination of three coffins made of cypress wood, lead and oak.
His tomb will be similarly humble: an alcove in the church that was previously used to store candlesticks. It will be labelled with just his papal name in Latin: Franciscus.
Pope Francis died on Monday, aged 88, from a stroke and irreversible heart failure in his beloved Casa Santa Marta residence.
In his final hours, he had joined crowds for an Easter Sunday blessing at St Peter’s Square. The pontiff had only recently been discharged from hospital, after five weeks of treatment for an infection that led to double pneumonia.
