Who was at Pope Francis' funeral and where did they sit?
Volodymyr Zelensky (left) sitting on the same front row as France's Emmanuel Macron (right of centre) and Donald Trump (right)
- Published
Numerous world leaders and royals have gathered in Rome for Pope Francis' funeral.
Among the most prominent figures at the Vatican's St Peter's Square on Saturday morning were Prince William, US President Donald Trump and his predecessor Joe Biden, Britain's Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Their attendance comes at a fragile time for international diplomacy, with Trump meeting Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky before the service.
So among the VIP attendees, who sat next to whom?
Trump and Zelensky 10 seats apart
Trump was in a front-row seat near Francis' coffin, alongside his wife Melania Trump, across the aisle from Macron and his wife Brigitte.
Intriguingly, he and First Lady Melania were sitting between two staunch supporters of Ukraine. Estonia's President Alar Karis was to Melania's left, and Finland's Alexander Stubb to Trump's right.
Melania Trump wore a finely detailed outfit for the mass
The Trumps sandwiched by Finland's Alexander Stubb (to the left of this image) and Estonia's President Alar Karis (right of centre)
Estonia and Finland are both staunch allies of another man of the moment in attendance - Zelensky, who looked sombre-faced at the Vatican. He was sitting on the same row as Macron, separated by a few other dignitaries.
Zelensky, who has been locked in negotiations and public arguments with Trump in recent weeks, was just 10 seats and one aisle away from him, on the same row.
Shortly before the funeral started, the pair were pictured sitting locked in deep discussion.
The White House described the 15-minute meeting as "very productive," while Zelensky said it was "very symbolic" and had "potential to become historic".
Zelensky with his wife Olena
The seating plan
The VIPs were in a separate section from the hundreds of thousands of members of the public who have descended on Rome for the event.
Dignitaries were sitting on the the right-hand side of the square, next to St Peter's Basilica.
Those with the best seats were Javier Milei, president of Francis' native Argentina, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Italian President Sergio Mattarella, representing the country that surrounds the Vatican City state.
Behind them were reigning sovereigns, and other delegations were seated in alphabetical order in French, the official language of diplomacy, on other benches.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella (left), Argentina's General Secretary of the Presidency Karina Milei (left of centre) and Argentina's President Javier Milei (centre) in their prime seats
Representing British royalty, the Prince of Wales was sitting next to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz several rows back from the front, and some distance away from Starmer.
Prince William (centre) seated next to Scholz (right)
Starmer himself sat in the fifth row with his wife Victoria.
Behind the British leader was the World Health Organization's (WHO) director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The Starmers (centre) and WHO chief (left)
Former US President Joe Biden was seen hand in hand with his wife Jill. He was sitting four rows behind Trump.
LIVE UPDATES: World leaders in Rome for Pope's funeral
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European leaders and royalty
Many European leaders, as well as royalty from European countries, were in attendance.
France's President Emmanuel Macron and France's First Lady Brigitte Macron (left), along the row from the Trumps
The Macrons watched the service closely from their front row position, and the French president shook hands with Trump.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was at the proceedings, and was seen chatting with Macron.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the funeral
Norway's Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit
Spain's King Felipe and Queen Letizia
Monaco's Princess Charlene (left) and Prince Albert II (centre)
Other political figures and royals attending the Pope's funeral included:
Poland President Andrzej Duda
Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader
Belgium King Philippe and Queen Mathilde
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Croatia President Zoran Milanovic
Ecuador President Daniel Noboa
Ireland Taoiseach (prime minister) Micheál Martin
Moldova President Maia Sandu
Latvia President Edgars Rinkevics
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon
Sweden King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres
Queen Mary of Denmark
Jordan King Abdullah II and Queen Rania
Hungary President Tamas Sulyok and Prime Minister Viktor Orban
European Council President Antonio Costa
Correction 26 April 2025: This story has been updated to remove reference to Chen Chien-jen, who is the former vice-president of Taiwan, not the vice-president of China as originally stated in this story.