Prince Ricardo De La Cerda
Royalty and Heads of State will gather at the Vatican for the Inauguration Mass of Pope Leo XIV this Sunday, so we are looking at all the Catholic Sovereigns and Royal Guests at past Papal Inaugurations over the past century!
The Prince and Princess of Piedmont (wearing Queen Margherita’s Musy Tiara) led the Royal Guests at the Coronation of Pope Pius XII at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican in 1939.
King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola of Belgium (wearing the Nine Provinces Tiara and Wolfers Necklace) and Hereditary Grand Duke Jean and Hereditary Grand Duchess Joséphine Charlotte of Luxembourg (in the Congo Diamond Necklace Tiara) led the Dignitaries at the Coronation of Pope Paul VI, which was the last Papal Coronation.
King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain and King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola of Belgium were among the guests at the ‘pared down’ Inauguration Mass of Pope John Paul I in 1978.
Just a few weeks later, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain, Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duchess Joséphine Charlotte of Luxembourg, Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace of Monaco, Princess Gina of Liechtenstein attend the Inauguration Mass of Pope John Paul II at the Vatican.
In 2005, the Inauguration Mass of Pope Benedict XVI was attended by King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Albert II of Monaco, The Duke of Brabant and Princess Mathilde of Belgium, Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein, and the Prince of Orange.
The Inauguration Mass of Pope Francis in 2013 was attended by King Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg, Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco, The Prince and Princess of Asturias, Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein, The Prince of Orange and Princess Máxima of the Netherlands, and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.
Royal Guests set to attend the Inauguration Mass of Pope Leo XIV this Sunday: