A Surprising Royal Is Attending Pope Leo XIV's Inauguration Later This Month

Buckingham Palace shared the unexpected news in a statement.

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Royals including The King and Queen standing on the balcony in uniforms during Trooping the Colour 2023
(Image credit: Getty Images)

An unexpected member of the Royal Family is set to attend the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV later this month. The first American pontiff, 69-year-old Robert Francis Prevost who was born in Chicago, will be inaugurated in Vatican City's St. Peter's Square on May 18.

Pope Leo was selected following the death of Pope Francis, who passed away on April 21 at age 88. It's now been revealed that neither Prince William nor King Charles will be in attendance at the historical ceremony. Instead, another member of the Royal Family will represent the U.K. at the prestigious mass.

Prince William attended Pope Francis's funeral on April 26, "stepping in" for his father, King Charles, in Vatican City, where he showed himself to be the "ideal" future monarch, per royal experts. King Charles met with Pope Francis weeks prior to the pontiff's death, during a royal tour of Italy with Queen Camilla.

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Prince William at Pope Francis's funeral

Prince William attends Pope Francis's funeral in April 2025.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

In a statement to Hello! magazine, Buckingham Palace revealed, "The Duke of Edinburgh will represent His Majesty at the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV." The outlet further reported, "The Palace has not given a reason as to why The King nor Prince William will miss the occasion."

As both King Charles and Prince William have recently traveled to the Vatican, it makes sense that Prince Edward will handle the important responsibility of being present for Pope Leo XIV's inauguration.

Pope Leo XIV waves at the crowds outside the Vatican

Pope Leo XIV will be inaugurated on May 18.

(Image credit: Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images))

The important event will attract world leaders and religious figures, as well as members of the general public. According to Reuters, as many as 200,000 people attended Pope Francis's inauguration in 2013.

Pope Leo's brother, John Prevost, told The New York Times, "The best way I could describe him right now is that he will be following in Francis's footsteps...They were very good friends. They knew each other before he was pope, before my brother even was bishop." Prevost also shared his belief that Pope Leo "has great, great desire to help the downtrodden and the disenfranchised, the people who are ignored."

Amy Mackelden
Amy Mackelden
Weekend Editor

Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.