Monday, 21 April 2025

Royals Attendance at The Pope's Funerals & Inaugurations (2005 to Present)

This list covers the Royals who attended The Pope's funeral in an official capacity. Former Monarchies are not included.

Foreign Dignitaries Invited - We marked this as: 
  • YES, if most countries around the world were invited to send a official delegation
  • NO, if most countries were not invited to send an official delegation. (In those cases, usually only Italy and the birth country of the Pope were invited. Any royal in attendance would then be attending in a personal capacity.)

Religion
Catholic
Non-Catholic
Mixed Religions
Table 2
2025-Present
We have included on this list all the Monarchies that participated in the last State Funeral (Pope John Paul II in 2005), as they are likely to send someone to Pope Francis's funeral.

Country 2025 
Funeral 
Francis
2025 
Inauguration
- - -
Belgium King Philippe &
Queen Mathilde
- - - -
Denmark Queen Mary- - - -
Jordan King Abdullah & Queen Rania- - - -
Lesotho King Letsie- - - -
Liechtenstein Hereditary Prince Alois & Hereditary Princess Sophie- - - -
Luxembourg Grand Duke Henri &
Grand Duchess Maria Teresa
- - - -
Monaco Prince Albert & Princess Charlene- - - -
Morocco Crown Prince Moulay Hassan- - - -
Netherlands *- - - -
Norway Crown Prince Haakon & Crown Princess Mette-Marit- - - -
Qatar Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani- - - -
Spain King Felipe & Queen Letizia- - - -
Sweden King Carl Gustaf & Queen Silvia- - - -
UAE Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed Al Nahyan
- - - -
UK Prince William- - - -
-
- - - -
-
- - - -
Foreign Dignitaries Invited Yes- - - -
Total
Monarchies
14- - - -
  • 2025 Francis
    • Netherland's official Monarch's Birthday celebrations, Koningsdag (King's Day) fell on the same day. As a result, they were unable to send a member of the royal family. 
    • King Frederik of Denmark was unable to join his wife due to his official visit to Japan.
    • King Harald of Norway no longer attends international events due to health & mobility issues. Queen Sonja was on medical leave at the time. 
    • Complete List of Royal Attendance with Former Monarches and any extended Royals attending in a personal capacity. 

Table 1
2005-2023


Country 2005
Funeral
John Paul II
2005
Inauguration
Benedict XVII
2013
Inauguration
Francis
2023
Funeral
Benedict XVII
Bahrain
Prince Abdullah bin
Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa
BelgiumKing Albert &
Queen Paola
Prince Philippe & Princess Mathilde King Albert &
Queen Paola
King Philippe & Queen Mathilde
DenmarkQueen Margrethe  &
Prince Henrik

JordanKing Abdullah &
Queen Rania

LesothoKing Letsie III
LiechtensteinPrince Hans-Adam II & Princess MarieHereditary Prince Alois Hereditary Prince Alois
& Hereditary Princess Sophie
Prince Stefan of Liechtenstein
(Ambassador to The Vatican)
LuxembourgGrand Duke Henri &
Grand Duchess Maria Teresa

Monaco*Prince Albert Prince Albert &
Princess Charlene

MoroccoPrince Moulay Rachid
Netherlands
Prince Willem-Alexander &
Princess Maxima

NorwayQueen Sonja
QatarEmir Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani
SpainKing Juan Carlos &
Queen Sofia
Prince Felipe &
Princess Letizia
Queen Sofia
SwedenKing Carl Gustaf &
Queen Silvia
King Carl Gustaf
UAESheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan
UKPrince CharlesPrince Philip The Duke & Duchess of Gloucester
Foreign Dignitaries InvitedYesYes Yes No
Total
Monarchies
137 8 3

Note:
  • 2005 John Paul II
    • Monaco royals were unable to attend due to the illness and the death of Prince Rainer of Monaco a few days after the Pope.
    • King Harald of Norway was unable to attend due to his recent Heart Surgery
  • 2023 Benedict XVI
    • Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died in December 2022. His funeral was held in January 2023.
    • This was not a state funeral. Royals Attended in a personal capacity. Only Italy and Germany were invited to send a senior official to represent the country.  Other countries were represented by their Ambassador. 

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