Why Prince William "Stepped in" for King Charles at Pope Francis's Funeral, According to a Royal Expert

Prince William traveled to Vatican City on Saturday, April 26 in order to attend Pope Francis's funeral. King Charles didn't attend the funeral, which brought together a plethora of world leaders. According to a royal expert, there's an important reason Charles decided to send William to the funeral in his place.

During an appearance on The Sun's "Royal Exclusive" show, royal expert Hugo Vickers explained why William traveled to Vatican City, but Charles didn't. "Well that's all protocol," Vickers noted. "I mean the Pope didn't come to the Queen's funeral as you remember, and actually Prince Charles went to the last...Pope John Paul II's funeral."

Vickers continued, "It's absolutely correct that it would be the Prince of Wales who goes, so I'm not at all surprised...The King doesn't go to those sort of funerals." The royal expert also called Prince William "absolutely the right guy" to represent the U.K. at Pope Francis's funeral.

It's also worth noting that Queen Elizabeth never attended a pope's funeral during her tenure as monarch. For instance, Charles attended Pope John Paul II's funeral in 2005, and Elizabeth didn't attend.

Discussing Prince William's attendance at the funeral, Vickers noted how the Prince of Wales "represented us very well at the re-consecration of Notre Dame Cathedral." During his trip to Paris in December 2024, William spent time with Donald Trump, with the president later telling the New York Post, "We had a great talk for half an hour, a little more than half an hour...We had a great, great talk."

Vickers also suggested that Prince William has grown more used to handling bigger responsibilities on behalf of the Royal Family. "We have seen him step up and be deputized in such a strong way for King Charles because obviously with The King's health battles last year, even though that's not the reason for this one, he has had to step up a lot and I do think he's doing it very well while juggling family life."

Meanwhile, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who serves as the leader of Catholics in England and Wales, revealed how the seating plan for Pope Francis's funeral was constructed. Per Hello! magazine, the seating plan was described by Nichols "as a 'master plan' in soothing the 'big egos' of world leaders."