Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend Pope Francis's funeral on Saturday in St Peter's Square, among them world leaders, Catholic officials and mourners from around the globe.

Many heads of state and royals have confirmed their attendance, including Prince William, French President Emmanuel Macron, Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, and Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Political figures will be out in full force at the ceremony, the most prominent gathering of world leaders since US President Donald Trump's inauguration.

Pope Francis's vocal opinions on global issues occasionally put him at odds with leaders - some of whom will be at the funeral.

Starmer, who No 10 confirmed would attend, described Pope Francis's leadership as "courageous" in a statement following his death and said he was a pope "for the poor, the downtrodden and the forgotten".

Prince William will attend the funeral on behalf of his father, King Charles III, in keeping with recent tradition. The King, when he was Prince of Wales, attended the funeral of Pope John Paul II in 2005 on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II.

King Charles and Queen Camilla were among the last high-profile figures meet the Pope at his residence Casa Santa Marta during a royal visit to Italy earlier this month.

The King paid tribute to Pope Francis's "compassion" and said "through his care for both people and planet, he profoundly touched the lives of so many".

He said he and the Queen........

© BBC