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Members of Europe’s royal families, including King Philippe of Belgium and Queen Sofia of Spain, will be among those in attendance at Pope Benedict XVI’s funeral later this week.
The ‘simple’ service, which will be presided over by Pope Francis on Thursday, is scheduled to commemorate the former Catholic leader who died at the age of 95 on New Year’s Eve.
Delegations from countries including Germany and Ireland will also attend, while top politicians from Italy and Hungary have already attended St. Peter’s Basilica to pay their respects as his body lies in the state.
Millions of people around the world are expected to watch the ceremony, which will be the first funeral for a pontiff hosted by his successor.
Queen Sofia of Spain, pictured here with her husband Juan Carlos, will attend the funeral of Pope Benedict.
King Philippe of Belgium and his wife Queen Mathilde, pictured together, will also attend the service.
Representatives of all of Europe’s Catholic royal families are expected to attend the funeral of Benedict, who was born Joseph Ratzinger in Marktl, Germany, in 1927.
Queen Sofia will attend on behalf of Spain, which is the largest Catholic country with a royal family still in place. It is not known if her husband, the former King of Spain Juan Carlos I, will join her.
King Felipe is not expected to be there, with a packed schedule for the week, including the Military Easter ceremony in Madrid on January 6, which will make it difficult for him and his wife, Queen Leitizia, to attend. royal center report.
King Philippe of Belgium will also be there, along with his wife Queen Mathilde, according to local media. His father, Albert II, who ruled Belgium from 1993 to 2013, is not expected to attend.
Other Catholic royal families in Europe include Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and Monaco, all of which are expected to have representatives present.
Lesotho’s King Letsie III is also a Roman Catholic, though it is not known if the monarch of the southern African nation will attend at this time.
It is not known if the British royal family will send a representative to the funeral on Thursday.
The Royal Family are the heads of the Church of England, so they’re not Roman Catholic, but that didn’t stop the future King Charles from attending Pope John Paul II’s funeral in 2005.
On that occasion, the Prince of Wales was accompanied by Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie, as well as Conservative Party leader Michael Howard and Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy.
The ‘simple’ service will be presided over by Pope Francis, pictured, the first time a pontiff’s funeral has been hosted by his successor.
Pope Benedict XVI, pictured here waving to crowds in 2006, died on New Year’s Eve at the age of 95.
Because Benedict was no longer a reigning pontiff when he died, official delegations have been limited to those from Italy and his native Germany.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has already traveled to the Vatican to pay her respects in person.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was seen among those paying their respects to the Pope at St.
Peter’s Basilica earlier today.
The Prime Minister is a member of the Hungarian Reformed Church, which is Protestant, but his wife and five children were raised as Roman Catholics.
According to Der SpiegelThe German president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, will attend the funerals, while Ireland will send its newly appointed ambassador to the Holy See, Frances Collins, as the sole representative.
The country’s Department of Foreign Affairs said the irish times: ‘In line with the official statement issued by the Vatican on December 31 regarding the arrangements for the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, with the exception of Germany and Italy, the presence of other official delegations is not foreseen.
‘Countries are expected to be represented by their ambassadors.
Ireland will be represented by Ambassador Frances Collins.
In the coming days, thousands of people will file through St. Peter’s Basilica to see Pope Benedict XVI lying in state, with the last visitors allowed in at 7 pm on Wednesday.
The funeral itself will begin at 9:30 a.m. the next day in St. Peter’s Square. and tens of thousands of mourners are expected to attend.
The details of the funeral are still unknown.
Benedict has been lying without any papal insignia, such as a crosier, a silver staff with a crucifix on it, or a pallium, a band of cloth worn around the neck.
It was not clear if the pastoral cross or any other items he used as pope will be buried with him.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Benedict will be buried in accordance with his wishes in the same spot below St. Peter’s Basilica where his predecessor John Paul II was originally buried in 2005. His body was later moved to a chapel in the basilica in 2011.