Presidents, prime ministers and royalty are preparing to travel to Rome for Pope Francis’ funeral, which will be the most prominent gathering of world leaders since President Trump’s inauguration in January.
The funeral on Saturday will cap almost a week of mourning for Francis, whose advocacy for migrants, the poor, the marginalized and those suffering under war often put him directly at odds with some of the powerful people who will pay their respects to him inside St. Peter’s Basilica.
Francis had openly criticized some world leaders, like Mr. Trump, and faced stinging criticism from others, like President Javier Milei of Argentina, who once dismissed his countryman, the first pope from Latin America, as a “filthy leftist.”
Francis’ funeral will be Mr. Trump’s first foreign trip in his second term, and his first time seeing many of his global peers since he began to shake the world order with steep tariffs, erratic policy swings and dramatic deportations.
Mr. Milei’s office said on Tuesday that he would attend the funeral of Francis, a proud Argentine seen by many as a national hero. A far-right libertarian, Mr. Milei and the pope appeared to smooth over some issues last year.
Here are some other leaders who plan to attend:
Britain
Keir Starmer, the prime minister, and Prince William, the heir to the throne
Prince William will attend on behalf of his father, King Charles III, Kensington Palace said in a statement on Tuesday. King Charles and Queen Camilla had met with Francis earlier this month.Mr. Starmer, the head of the British government, described Francis’ leadership as “courageous” and noted his concern for “the poor, the downtrodden and the forgotten” in a post on X.
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