The Vatican overturned protocol to secure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a front-row seat at Pope Francis' funeral alongside US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron, UNN reports, citing the Telegraph.
Details
The publication notes that Zelenskyy arrived in Rome with his wife, Olena Zelenska, amid expectations of a breakthrough in peace talks in Ukraine.
The leader of the war-torn country was met with spontaneous applause as he took his seat in St. Peter's Square after a brief meeting with Trump for their first talks since their Oval Office feud.
It appears the Vatican took special measures to ensure Zelenskyy a prominent place in the spotlight at the ceremony, where most leaders sat according to their country's name and whether they were heads of state or government, the publication writes.
Intricate rules dictated that world leaders sit alphabetically according to their country's name in French - the traditional language of diplomacy when protocols were drawn up.
As President of Ukraine, Zelenskyy could have expected to sit in the third row or even further back. Instead, he sat in the front row, 11 seats from Trump, who was to his right.
The Vatican did not deny that protocol rules had been broken.
"I believe they took a vacant seat," Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told The Telegraph.
Let's add
Between Zelenskyy and Trump were, among others, the presidents of India, Hungary, Gabon, Macron and his wife Brigitte, and Alexander Stubb, the president of Finland.
In French, the United States begins with the letter E - États-Unis.
To the right of Trump and his wife Melania were Alar Karis, the president of Estonia, and King Felipe of Spain (Espagne in French).
To Zelenskyy's right sat Michael D. Higgins, the President of Ireland, which appears to show that protocol rules were changed to ensure the Ukrainian leader a prominent place.
Elsewhere, the rules were strictly observed: Javier Miley, the president of Argentina, sat next to a standing Swiss guard in the far right corner of the front row.
The Prince of Wales, representing the King, sat in the third row, next to Olaf Scholz, the German Chancellor, who will soon leave his post.
Also present were Keir Starmer, the British Prime Minister, and his wife Lady Starmer, as well as Joe Biden, the former US President, who sat in the fifth row.
Sergio Mattarella, the President of Italy, sat in the front row, while Giorgia Meloni, the country's Prime Minister, sat further back in accordance with protocol regarding heads of government and heads of state, such as presidents and royals.