The funeral mass of Pope Franciscus takes place next Saturday in Vatican City, the same day on which King’s Day is celebrated in the Netherlands. The unexpected overlap suggested the Royal House and the Cabinet for a difficult choice: who would travel to Rome on behalf of the Netherlands and who will stay before King’s Day? On Tuesday evening the knot was made: the Dutch Prime Minister and foreign minister will travel to Italy.
For the Royal House, attending a pope funeral is not a matter of course. After the death of John Paul II in 2005, Queen Beatrix did not attend the funeral. That at the time caused the necessary irritation among Dutch Catholics, who had the feeling of being overlooked.
Because King’s Day coincides with the funeral, the question arose on Tuesday about who would travel to the Vatican to attend the ceremony. Prime Minister Dick Schoof and Minister of Foreign Affairs Caspar Veldkamp sounded from the start already in cabinet circles as options, but the option was also looked at the option to issue Queen Máxima. Another possibility was that Princess Amalia would represent the Dutch Royal House. In 2016, the royal couple went on a private visit to Pope Franciscus with their daughters Amalia, Alexia and Ariane.
But now the knot is made. The Dutch prime minister and foreign minister will travel to Italy. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima do not go to the funeral of the prince. Celebrate the royal couple and his family as previously planned King’s Day in Doetinchem. The festivities do start later, according to the Government Information Service.
The funeral starts at 10 am and can take an hour and a half, but the festivities in Doetinchem start at 11 am. And the Oranges want to avoid celebrating when the funeral takes place.
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US President Donald Trump was the first to announce his presence at the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday. French President Emmanuel Macron also says he is coming, as well as Javier Milei, the president of Argentina, the homeland of the Pope. Other attendees include the presidents of Brazil, Poland, Germany and Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that he would not come. On behalf of the European Union, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the chairman of the European Council, António Costa.