Pope Francis’ funeral seating arrangement’s politics were exposed: How Prince William and Keir Starmer are pushed further back, but Donald Trump really gets to sit in the first row

And shoulder-to-shoulder with Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz. William went on behalf of his father, King Charles III, the head of state of the United Kingdom.

Like Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, Sir Keir had to make do with a handful of rows back beside his wife, Victoria, as the head of a government rather than a state.

However, Vatican planners have attempted to use diplomacy to determine the pecking order, so the notion that the UK and other nations have been ignored or put down doesn’t fully ring true.

Reigning monarchs and heads of state are given precedence over heads of government in the Vatican’s seating arrangement for dignitaries,