The Vatican protocol that means Donald Trump will have 'third-tier seat' at Pope Francis funeral
Religious and world leaders from around the globe will gather in Vatican City tomorrow for Pope Francis' funeral, but Donald Trump might not be too happy with the seating arrangements.
The 88-year-old sadly passed away on Easter Monday following a period of ill health, prompting nine days of mourning which will start with his funeral on Saturday.
Hundreds of thousands of mourners have already been to see his body, although many are already being warned away by guards following some frankly outrageous behaviour, including taking photos and selfies with the body.
But surprisingly, outrageous behaviour doesn't have anything to do with why president Trump will be sat so far back at tomorrow's burial.
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The US president didn't exactly see eye to eye with Pope Francis, with the religious leader questioning Trump's plans to build a wall on the US Mexico border back in 2016.
He said: "A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian."
In typical Trump style, he quickly fired off a baffling response, saying: "For a religious leader to question a person's faith is disgraceful.
"If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS's ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been President because this would not have happened."
Trump has also been vocal about seating arrangements in the past, and he certainly seemed to find it funny when former president Joe Biden was placed in the 14th row at Queen Elizabeth's funeral.
At the time, Trump had written on social media: “If I were president, they wouldn’t have sat me back there - and our Country would be much different than it is right now.”
But now, the tables have turned, and the 78-year-old will reportedly be placed in a 'third-tier' seat on Saturday due to Vatican protocol, which suggests that Catholic royals will be given the best view on the front row, followed by non-Catholic royals such as Prince William, who will be attending on behalf of his father King Charles.
World leaders, heads of states, and other foreign dignitaries will be on the row behind.
Trump has at least earned himself an invite. President Putin, for example, won't be at the funeral, as he is still subject to the ICC warrant for the alleged forced deportation of children during the Russian war with Ukraine.
Other attendees will include UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
It is said that world leaders will be seated in alphabetical order according to the name of their country in French, which is the language of diplomacy used when the protocols were initially put in place.
Topics: Pope Francis, Donald Trump, World News, Politics, US News, Religion
James Moorhouse