Keir Starmer will accept an invite to attend the Pope’s funeral this weekend, it was confirmed today.
The PM is making the trip to Rome on Saturday alongside a host of international dignitaries, including Donald Trump and his wife Melania.
However, Downing Street refused to comment on whether the leaders will be able to meet amid the ceremony, with frantic talks ongoing over a Transatlantic trade deal.
Details of Francis’s funeral were confirmed this morning, with mass to take place at 10am local time celebrated by the dean of the College of Cardinals.
The Pope’s body will be on display for the public to pay their respects in St Peter’s Basilica from tomorrow.
Mr Trump announced yesterday that he and the First Lady will travel to Rome – the first international trip of his second term. Melania’s 55th birthday is on Saturday.
‘Melania and I will be going to the funeral of Pope Francis, in Rome. We look forward to being there!’ he wrote on social media.
The Vatican said Francis, the first pope from Latin America, died after a stroke and requested a simple tomb in Rome.
A pontiff’s funeral and interment must take place four to six days after his death.