It has been decided that Prince William will fly to Rome and Vatican City for Pope Francis’s funeral, which will be held on Saturday. I would imagine that William will likely fly into Rome on Friday, but the “state funeral” aspect of Pope Francis’s funeral will go down on Saturday. I wondered aloud if King Charles would actually try to go to this funeral, given his relationships with many of the world leaders who plan to be in attendance. But according to Katie Nicholl at Vanity Fair, there’s a reason why Charles cannot go to the funeral: protocol and precedence.
Prince William will attend Pope Francis’s funeral on behalf of King Charles, Kensington Palace confirmed on Tuesday. The Prince of Wales will join world leaders, including President Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, at the funeral service at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on Saturday.
The Prince of Wales will join world leaders, including President Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, at the funeral service at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on Saturday.
King Charles, the last head of state to have an audience with Pope Francis, will not travel to the Vatican, in accordance with protocol and precedence which dictates that the Sovereign does not attend funerals, Buckingham Palace has confirmed.
The attendance of Prince William alongside world leaders highlights the vital role he plays as heir. When Pope John Paul II died in April 2005, Charles and Queen Camilla’s wedding was delayed as Charles was required to attend in place of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
“Protocol and precedence”? Meaning what? It’s somehow against protocol for an Anglican king to attend a pope’s funeral? Probably. Because some of the Catholic kings and queens will attend, notably Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia. It’s also noteworthy that William never met Pope Francis, probably because William is so incredibly lazy and he consistently refuses to travel. Still, get ready for lots of Kensington Palace keenery about “Statesman Bill.” They’ll pour it on thick to avoid this question: why couldn’t Kate make a simple trip to Italy for a funeral? Why is Kate being blocked from nearly all of the diplomatic royal keenery for the past year?
There’s already a long list of people confirming their attendance at the funeral too – Keir Starmer, Donald Trump, Argentina’s President Javier Milei, Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky will all go to the funeral. Apparently, Vladimir Putin will send his regards but not attend. Belgium’s King Philippe and Queen Mathilde will also attend.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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- Prince William meeting US President Elect Donald Trump in the Salon Jaune room at the UK Ambassadors residence as the pair attended the Notre-Dame Cathedral reopening Featuring: Prince William, Donald Trump Where: Paris, France When: 07 Dec 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Prince William meeting US President Elect Donald Trump in the Salon Jaune room at the UK Ambassadors residence as the pair attended the Notre-Dame Cathedral reopening Featuring: Prince William, Donald Trump Where: Paris, France When: 07 Dec 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Prince William meeting US President Elect Donald Trump in the Salon Jaune room at the UK Ambassadors residence as the pair attended the Notre-Dame Cathedral reopening Featuring: Prince William, Donald Trump Where: Paris, France When: 07 Dec 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Prince William meeting US President Elect Donald Trump in the Salon Jaune room at the UK Ambassadors residence as the pair attended the Notre-Dame Cathedral reopening Featuring: Prince William, Donald Trump Where: Paris, France When: 07 Dec 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Prince William meeting US President Elect Donald Trump in the Salon Jaune room at the UK Ambassadors residence as the pair attended the Notre-Dame Cathedral reopening Featuring: Prince William, Donald Trump Where: Paris, France When: 07 Dec 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Prince William meeting US President Elect Donald Trump in the Salon Jaune room at the UK Ambassadors residence as the pair attended the Notre-Dame Cathedral reopening Featuring: Prince William, Donald Trump Where: Paris, France When: 07 Dec 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Prince of Wales, Patron of NHS Charities Together, talks to NHS staff members during to a visit to the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, to see the impact of funds provided by the charity since the coronavirus pandemic which began five years ago. Featuring: Prince William, Prince of Wales Where: Reading, United Kingdom When: 05 Mar 2025 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Prince of Wales arrives to meet Estonian troops at Tapa Camp and thank them for their support they have provided to the British army in Estonia on the second day of his visit to Estonia Featuring: William, Prince of Wales Where: Tapa, Estonia When: 21 Mar 2025 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Prince of Wales, Colonel-in-Chief, Mercian Regiment attends a handover ceremony between the Royal Dragoon Guards and the Mercian Regiment to highlight a transfer of authority at Tapa Camp. on the second day of his visit to Estonia Featuring: William, Prince of Wales Where: Tapa, Estonia When: 21 Mar 2025 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
He should shave that ghastly beard so he does not look scruffy at the popes funeral.
Trump’s going? Now we know that Italy lets in convicted felons.
I believe the Vatican is an independent State.
Travel into Italy to get there?
Oh no now Trump will have photo ops with William and praise him to the skies.
Is this protocol specific to the British family just because I’m sure I’ve seen other kings attend funerals and wasn’t Queen Elizabeth attending funerals?
Yes, it is specific to the UK (Belgium’s King and Queen will attend the Pope’s funeral, for example). I doubt it is for religions reasons because the UK monarch doesn’t do funerals no matter who it is, it’s always the Prince of Wales (or if lower in importance, Sophie and Edward). QEII only attended Churchill and Margaret Thatcher funerals, so only within the UK. It’s supposedly “tradition” but who knows what the real reason is?
I really believe they are trying as always to ensure K doesn’t get more popular than W. Maybe that’s safer for her too, given W’s terrible temper?
I was curious about QE2 so I searched a bit, and apparently she never attended the funeral of any pope. When John Paul 2 died Charles went to the funeral so maybe there is precedent, like the heir goes to represent the royals.
I think is a British thing although it’s possible to French royalty did it too. I think they’re basically not allowed to be “in contact” with death or something like that. But Charles went to his mother’s and father’s funerals so there might be exceptions for family.
What they actually mean is QE II never attended funerals for foreign heads of state, just like she never went to the various royal weddings, jubilees ect. Before QEII traveling wasn’t as fast and easy so having all the leaders attend funerals and other events was very rare
This supposed protocol is not absolute and I don’t know that the actual rationale behind it has ever been fully explained, other than some intimating that the presence of the Queen would overshadow the service. 🙄. QEIi and Philip attended King Beaudoin’s funeral but then snubbed the Belgians regarding the funeral of Beaudoin’s wife, Queen Fabiola. They didn’t even send a minor Royal as a representative of the Queen. Not a few saw that as an insult. So, protocol and procedure was whatever the Queen wanted to do at a particular moment in a particular time.
Dian a went solo to princess graces funeral. Charles did not attend
Was Chuck with the Rottweiler that weekend?
I don’t think Monaco was considered important enough for Prince Charles to attend Princess Grace’s funeral.
And Diana asked to go. Diana later told Morton that Charles did not even come to greet her at the airport when she returned, signs of some trouble.
I think it’s a bit like only current and former First Ladies attend the funeral of a First Lady. Their spouses don’t attend.
I’m here for anyone’s guess as to why Kate is excluded from these events. I can’t even come up with a conspiracy theory.
The getting ready for school runs will be used
My theory as to why Kate never attends these events: she’s lazy and refused.
She is both, but this is a high level event and an opportunity to dredge out a black coat dress and a big hat. I suspect it’s at Wiliie’s request.
So many dignitaries will be there she won’t be the focus of the paparazzi so she can’t be bothered.
She will be seeking solace in nature!
She has to commune with the trees and the sun. The Pope’s funeral just doesn’t fit in, sorry.
Maybe they are slowly taking her out of public life. This based on the idea that she is making a Duchess of York of herself.
+1
They’ll probably use Louis’ birthday, but that’s a pretty thin excuse to me. They just spent weeks together and his birthday is today. Going away the weekend after for your job isn’t a huge parental fail.
I think she doesn’t like to travel because she’s uncomfortable being ” on”, especially when surrounded by people who are very accomplished and not people who have to be sycophantic to her. The Queen of Belgium doesn’t have to pretend that your inane question wasn’t inane the way that a diplomatic representative does, even though she probably still would. Also I don’t think that her husband wants her there so for once they’re not at cross purposes.
The thing about diplomats is that they’re pretty diplomatic though. Even when Ivanka was stomping around pretending to be some high level diplomat, they made some icy faces but otherwise didn’t freeze her out or anything. If Kate showed up and acted pleasant and didn’t flash her crotch at everyone they’d be pretty nice to her.
I think it’s related to that flurry of weird articles in the past year about Kate/The Princess of Wales having “no constitutional role.” No matter any marital issues between William and Kate, I think benching Kate sends a very strong message that Charles and William refuse to compete with a popular wife that grabs headlines, and that they want her to stay in her lane as Mummy to the Nation and Nature Mummy! Unthreatening, no impact, and suits Kate’s laziness perfectly
But Kate is not popular with all except devoted fans and those who don’t like Meghan. Kate is bland and she is also mean spirited.
Maybe because she can’t be trusted not to flash anyone and, don’t forget, she can’t string enough words together to greet anybody.
i am not sure what’s going on. If it was just this – if Kate was just sitting this one out – it wouldn’t necessarily mean anything in my mind. But she didn’t attend the Notre Dame reopening, she was benched for the state dinner in November as well as the diplomatic reception.
Something is up and I’m not sure if this is about phasing her out of public life (hence all her IG videos bc she’s refusing to be phased out) or about sitting her out so she doesn’t get the headlines, or something else (i.e. she can’t attend these types of events.)
A couple of reasons are possible..it’s pretty obvious that she doesn’t have any diplomatic or conversational skills and they can’t risk her exposure in an international environment where they can’t control the narrative as they do in Britain..she never did, it’s true but whatever happened last year made the situation worse…
She’s always late for events. She insulted the Danes by making the two Queens wait.
I can just imagine she’d delay the funeral if she could. This is the woman who made her FIL delayed for his own coronation. She has no shame.
But I do very much think that she would probably be blocked at this juncture. Their marriage is over. They want her out of public view. She can’t be trusted to attend a funeral and simply stand somberly and quietly and then retire to her hotel for rest due to her ongoing recovery. She could send flowers to all of the other female representatives of nations saying that it was lovely to see them and she had wished it had been under less sorrowful circumstances. And then apologize for not being able to meet in person due to her health and that she hopes to see them soon under better circumstances while expressing an interest in their most favorite charitable interest and ways to implement their success in the UK. And then extending a thoughtful personal note about their children or family members or a tribute to their nation, such as a heartfelt desire to visit a little known but immensely culturally important spot in nature etc. send her best. – Kate
I wonder if it’s a couple of things. One is that she can’t be trusted to be poised and articulate to the point where she is quite often an embarrassment. The other thing is that I wonder if they are gradually phasing her out by not having her attend anything to do with state occasions, and continually harping on about back to nature and peace and tranquility, bringing joy etc. I wonder if they want to push her completely out of the picture maybe even divorce, with the reason being she wants a quiet life in nature yada yada …
I do wonder about this.
QE2 – based on The Crown – hired someone to tutor her on basic subjects.
Couldn’t K call up the diplomatic service and request training on how to approach and interact with various public figures. Like. Flash cards of faces with the proper protocol for greeting them and their top 5 personal interests, top 5 charitable interests and the names of their family members.
If I moved to a foreign country, I planned on doing this with basic geography, government and entertainment officials, government procedures and “constitution” like documents, historical and cultural facts, proper greetings and distinctive and important things to remember. How / when laundry is done. If small talk is considered rude. The German 3ft talking volume. Etc.
@Friendly Crow, I bet the foreign office (I have a cousin who works for them!) could write these sorts of briefings and get them cleared through the bureaucracy within a few hours. I used to write exactly those briefings for senior US government officials when they met equally senior foreign officials. The thing is, though, the official receiving the briefing has to actually, you know, read and absorb the briefings.
@Smart&Messy
William simply hasn’t wanted her around for a long time. Remember the British media advertising him as the most handsome bachelor. He only lost to Crarson🤣
Kate has been out of the picture for a long time now, the scar story has only postponed the inevitable, and Diana’s divorce lawyers are working.
My guess? They’re about to travel to Scotland together for a ” romantic visit.” I’m assuming it will be one overnight. And there is no way they’re spending more time together than that. But even without the Scotland visit, it would still probably be a no-go. Having to interact together in front of world leaders and international cameras for an extended amount of time without the cover of the rota? No way in hell. Whether it was a mutual decision or William’s decision, idk. I’m guessing they’ll say she doesn’t want to be away from the kids but I’d imagine this could even be set up as a day visit although a long one.
She’s not attending because they don’t want her to. She’s not good at or even dependable at important events with world leaders.
Is it just me or does William look like Fred Scuttle with that salute? Also the rabid chipmunk with the Kate paws is off putting
Will he cancel at the last minute? He known to go MIA at a short notice. I hope he does cancel. It would prove me right. The press wouldn’t be able to clean that💩up. KC/QC and the other working royals would be pissed.
I regret Connie that was my first thought too if he has been FORCED to do something he doesn’t want, then he won’t. Quite frankly it was NOT be becoming for him skiving this prominent funeral
The tangerine terror has announced am intention to attend. Willy wants to play bigly boy diplomatic and shake those abnormally small hands while manically grinning for the cameras. He doesn’t understand the basics of soft diplomacy. Willy probably demanded to go, which should actually concern everyone. Willy is an international incident away from permanently destabilizing the monarchy. 😃
I can see it now — Trump grinning stupidly and holding up his fist while Slumlord Bill smiles fawningly at him. Two totally unstatesmen-like peas in a pod.
Ah, so we’ve finally identified William’s “vital role.” It’s to attend funerals.
Today’s Metro said “the decision to send Will to Vatican City for the ceremony alongside world leaders marks a major milestone in the 42 year old growth as a global statesman and future King.” Super cringe, it is his JOB to turn up for a prominent religious rite, dress in black, be both sober and sombre. He skipped the Easter service despite spending an entire month on holiday with his family to extend his time with said family?? It was his duty as heir to attend the Easter Service to demonstrate loyalty to the RF and commitment to his future role as head of CE.
Why do the Brits make every excuse for this loser not to do his very high-paying job? Loyalty to the monarch should only go so far!
The global statesman thing will never not be funny. Edward and Sophie attended a lot of high profile funerals and Edward has never been referred to as a global statesman. He just did his duty to represent the family.
I believe William and Kate were hoping to meet Pope Francis last year during their supposed visit to Italy.
You know what I’ve noticed in a lot of photos of William, and his notoriously awkward / weird body language? He seems to be suffering from an excess of self-awareness, and this can be a British trait: overthinking it. Like, there are times when you might suspend a thought bubble over his head like in a comic strip, in which his inner voice is chirping, “Oi, mate, you know this is pointless! I know this is pointless! But we both have to suck it up and save face. So we’re both hostage to this awkward ritual of mutually agreeing how pointless this is. Doesn’t that make us clever!” …there’s something a bit camp, or arch, that tend to be supercilious, and actually does the opposite of what it’s calibrated to accomplish: it makes people feel tense and on edge, instead of relaxed. People in Harry’s presence all seem to relax, and from there, real joy pours forth. William does not set people at ease. Because *he’s* not at ease. I’ve never seen anyone less comfortable in his own skin. Something is eating away at him. Probably a bad conscience. Spare really did a number on him. Blind drunk on his wedding day? Refusing to meet Harry the night before his own wedding? When they both lost their mum? How awfully sad. I mean. It’s like someone cauterised a part of his soul. Harry just existing in the world proves what he’s missing, and it’s a part of himself. Kate is just filler. Kids, too. Charles at least has Camilla.
Charles caused many of tbe issues as being bad husband to his 1st wife and bad father and grandfather. Camilla did not exactly help matters but she and Charles deserve each other. Charles should have had a life with his 1st wife and children had he been a decent human being. William takes after his dad.
Charles never should have been with his “first wife”. He treated her horribly but I don’t think staying with her to “have a life with his 1st wife and children” would have been a preferred outcome with his mindset. Divorce isn’t the worst thing in the world; it’s the best solution in many cases.
well that’s all on him. He was the one who did the courting and proposing and he married her to get heirs. If he did not love her (which he later admitted) he should have not married her. He is too self centered. He got to have his cake and eat it too. He certainly is a bad parent and his treatment of Meghan and Harry is appalling. Fatherhood is not just a “duty”. If he wanted a marriage to beget heirs only, he should have told the bride to be. Or better yet, tell her his intentions before any proposal.
Charles was bullied into marriage by his father and his grandmother, he had to do his duty and produce the heir and the spare. I felt sorry for both of them, he didn’t love her and I suspect she was more in love with the Prince of Wales than Charles Philip Arthur George and too young to understand the difference.
Sunnyside the queen did not like confrontations she did not bully she ostriche d Charles never takes responsibility for his own actions. He authorized a biography that slammed his parents. Spare is mild in comparison. His grandmother coddled Charles she did not bully him. His grandmother wanted him to settle down and did not want Charles to go the way of the duke of windsor . Sunnyside Charles never found whatever in love means. Nobody forced him to treat harry and Meghan so badly. Charles wanted heirs and was selfish to bring in a woman just out of her teens that he later said he did not love. To me it’s all on Charles. Charles was 32 then when he married Diana not a baby.
There will definitely be some photos of the Global Statesman looking bored at the funeral and then guffawing awkwardly with world leaders. And yes, usually it was the PoW’s job to represent the monarch at such events, but Charles was also quite an involved PoW, interested in building relationships. It’s clear from the wording in this story about “protocol” that William has been ordered to go.
He’ll be staring at the ceiling and trying to post on AV forums. What a waste of space.
@Blogger I think FK’s phone should be confiscated to ensure that a world wide audience doesn’t catch him scrolling down during the funeral!
I’m truly disgusted with the church allowing certain people to attend.. I don’t even want to hear excuses. Truly shameful imo
It’s a long-standing church thing that all are welcome in God’s house, no exceptions (taking communion can be different, but that’s a different topic). Maybe lightning will smite Trump when he enters, though?
William couldn’t bother to go to former president’s Jimmy Carter’s state funeral in the US but he can go to the papal funeral mass. The pope is the sovereign of the Vatican state. He wouldn’t be going without the OK of the UK government and he needs to recover from the backlash of not going to royal Easter services.
Harry’s brother also couldn’t be bothered to attend his godfather’s funeral, which was just down the road from Adelaide Cottage.
Where he was scheduled to do a reading, and only cancelled an hour or so before.
I think this is why the European Royal houses don’t invite him to their gatherings. He’s totally devoid of duty.
@Blogger could it also be that Will just doesn’t make any effort with other people. He’s not a networker and actually thinks due to Divine Right he is superior to EVERYONE including reigning monarchs?! I can’t imagine unless you are an Aston Villa fan that he’s good at small talk because he is NOT interested in anyone else, is he? Sad to be 42 with that kind of platform and totally wrapped up in himself so he isn’t making any use of the opportunities available to connect with others.
@Blogger – and personality.
I’m assuming Charles won’t go because he is the Head of the Church of England, which was formed after England abandoned the Roman Catholic Church, so I’m assuming they don’t like the optics that would surround England’s “defender of religion” attending a Catholic Pope’s funeral.
Well, maybe he will stay there for a vacation afterwards…
Charles can attend. As everyone knows, going against the protocol is done often. The decision not to attend the funeral of a pontiff as the head of the Roman Catholic Church, is rooted in a precedent set by the late Queen. So it’s hardly some kind of outdated and old tradition—nothing that can’t be changed. Remember, they only follow protocol when it suits them.
Funnily enough, Charles and Francis were considered to be close. Charles visited the Vatican three times.
I mean …. Close? He visited three times in 12 years and then demanded a photo op with said “friend” when his “friend” was dying?
But yes. He’s the KING. He can do what he wants, when he wants. Almost completely.
If he “breaks protocol” for something like this, it could easily be spun as Charles’s deep abiding respect and mutual admiration for another man of faith.
No “church of England” hoops. Just respect and a desire to honor respect and connection by attending his funeral. And perhaps a message of unity for people of all faiths to honor and respect each others beliefs, unless those beliefs cause harm to others.
That would be applauded and wildly popular. But Charles has been missing these opportunities his whole life so no reason to change now I suppose.
I think he’s not going because he’s super ill. And he doesn’t want any religious condemnation for having treated his son, dil and their children like sh!t. Not to mention his slumlord status where the people under his direct control are not aided as Jesus commanded but suffer due to his selfishness and neglect.
Not that that would come from the British ass kissing media.
Using “protocol” as the reason always annoys me because what usually means is QEII did it this way. There’s rarely any deeper meaning or tradition behind it
Genuinely puzzled as a Brit why our Monarchs don’t attend funerals. We are Irish Catholic on mum’s side of the family and she has a deep interest in the Kennedy’s and would read every book on them. I can remember looking at photos of the 1963 funeral and asking why Prince Philip attended alone? Mum was pregnant with me at the time and the Queen was heavily pregnant with Edward. However, mum explained that the Queen NEVER attended funerals no matter how important. I would love to know why? Was it too risky in the long past for a monarch to travel abroad for funerals and it just evolved into protocol?
Obviously I am not the only one puzzled because Channel 5’s royal expert just explained that while QE2 did attend both Churchill and Thatcher funerals it was NOT practical for her to attend every high profile funeral. It became the norm for either her husband or son to attend as her representative. Clearly FK has an empty work diary so it is easier for him to attend than the busy King.
Well, at least William won’t be the most inappropriate person there. Trump tweeted yesterday that he’s “looking forward” to being at the funeral.
Who says that about a funeral? Though, to be fair, there’s a certain other funeral I’m looking forward to.
@Quitecontrary is Melania a Catholic? Perhaps she’ll stop him from taking a selfie with the casket? Looking forward to a funeral? Just crass but then BM is swooning over headline stating that Prince William is going to a BIG funeral with other GROWNUPS! The way they praise Will for occasionally showing up for important events is nauseating.
Because their marriage is over. He does not want to spend a single moment with her that he absolutely does not HAVE to spend. He cannot fake it without it taking a toll on the limited soul he has left inside of himself. They despise each other.
Kate has been benched. She’s shown again and again that she doesn’t have the slightest knowledge of international protocol and has evinced no desire to learn. She’d wear massive wiglets, the vulva necklace and dangly pearl earrings, and preen for the cameras. It’s clear, despite the gauzily rendered Shampoo commercial video that she and Willnot acted in, that they are separated, cannot stand each other, and between the two of them haven’t the diplomatic skills to carry out funeral for a rabbit.
Of course, Charles was officially spouseless after divorcing Diana, but he generally attended state funerals solo, even after marrying Camilla? I could be wrong, but I thought he attended American presidents’ funerals solo.
The thing that interests me is this: In the photo of W and dump standing together, W is known to be 6’2″. dump *claims* to be 6’3″, yet standing next to W he is noticeably half a head shorter. And, by the way, the police measured his height at 5’10” when he was booked.
Everything I’ve read about William states that he is 6’3” and Harry is 6’1”. But I agree about William towering over Trump.
Okay, the thing is, between his weird posture and age I can see him losing a few inches, but not FIVE. Also he seems like the kind to exaggerate his height because machismo.
Oh, let him go to Rome. He won’t attract much attention and Francis had a big heart for all sheep.
He’ll be running after Trump like a begging dog again. What an embarrassing man.
Dear all, there was an article about Harry in Celebitchy and an interview with his commander from Apache. I only read a part of Kaiser’s statement and now I wanted to finish it but I can’t find it
Can someone tell me what this commander said about Harry. I assume he praised him 😉
“The Sovereign does not attend funerals”? Since when? Elizabeth attended plenty of funerals, the last one, famously, of her own husband.