bitchy | Prince William reportedly tried to get out of attending Pope Francis’s funeral

Prince William attended Pope Francis’s funeral mass on Saturday in Vatican City. William was not seated or placed in any kind of central position, unlike the actual world leaders, diplomats, kings and queens. William also chose to wear a dark navy suit to a funeral, which is a bad call. This was effectively a state funeral, and there are dress codes and protocols – all of the men in attendance should have worn black suits and black ties. William and Donald Trump were two of the most prominent men in attendance who chose to wear navy. Figures. William’s choice to wear a blue suit might have been his form of “protest,” because according to the Mail’s Ephraim Hardcastle column, William didn’t want to go to the pope’s funeral. Wait until you hear why:

Prince William, packing his black tie for Pope Francis’s committal, should have attended his first state funeral in January, that of President Jimmy Carter. But my source whispers that the heir to the throne wasn’t keen on going. The King mobilised Prince Edward instead, leaving William at home on what happened, totally coincidentally, to be Kate’s birthday. It seems he was equally reluctant to obey the order to go to Rome on Saturday until his father pulled rank. Surely it had nothing to do with his beloved Aston Villa playing Crystal Palace in the FA Cup semifinal at Wembley?

[From The Daily Mail, print edition]

Interesting sidenote for people tracking the Mail’s coverage – the Mail stopped publishing the Hardcastle column online in March, out of nowhere and without mentioning why. The only reason why this story got out was because people literally took screenshots from the the paper. Anyway, I knew it was funky that Prince Edward got sent to Jimmy Carter’s funeral, and it makes sense that William tried to put up a fight about going to Francis’s funeral. But Aston Villa is playing! How is William supposed to keep up in the AV fan forums now??

Interestingly enough, the Scottish Daily Express also had a piece about William’s unwillingness to travel on behalf of the crown. They cite the Mail’s piece, but they also say that palace aides have been “concerned” about William’s “reluctance to travel abroad unless it is for an initiative he himself is personally involved in – or enjoys.”

I’d also like to point out the complete and utter lack of conversation about why the Princess of Wales did not attend the funeral alongside her husband. This was a day trip, and given Kate’s 2025 vacation schedule, she does not mind traveling (unless it’s for work). Most royal husband-and-wife teams went to the pope’s funeral together – Queen Letizia and King Felipe, Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon and Mette-Marit, Prince Albert and Princess Charlene, King Abdullah and Queen Rania, Belgium’s King Philippe and Queen Mathilde. Hello Magazine made a pathetic excuse for Kate’s absence – “Her absence, though noted by many royal watchers, follows both official protocols and family commitments, HELLO! understands.” Meaning what, Rania, Mathilde, Letizia, Charlene and Mette-Marit are all breaking official protocols by attending a pope’s funeral with their husbands??

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.