Prince of Wales and Prime Minister to attend funeral of Pope Francis

The Prince of Wales and Prime Minister will be among world leaders and dignitaries to attend the funeral of Pope Francis this weekend.

The late pontiff will be buried on Saturday, following his death on Easter Monday aged 88.

His body will be laid out for public view from Wednesday in St Peter's Basilica, so mourners can pay their respects to a man dubbed the People's Pope.

Heir to the throne William, a future head of the Church of England , will attend on behalf of the King, Kensington Palace said.

The Prime Minister will also join other leaders including US President Donald Trump , who had already said on social media that he and his wife Melania plan to attend the funeral.

Sir Keir said the "outpouring of grief" following Francis's death reflects the "high esteem" in which the Pope was held "not just by millions and millions of Catholics, but by many others across the world, myself included".

Handout photo provided by The Vatican of Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday, lying in a wooden coffin dressed in red, with rosary beads draped across his hands | PA

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, the Prime Minister said the Pope was "a quite remarkable man, and the work and commitment that he put into fairness over so many years, and globally, I think will be a real lasting legacy".

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said it's "right, like other world leaders are, that he (Sir Keir) pays tribute to his life and attends his funeral".

Downing Street would not be drawn on whether Sir Keir would have talks with counterparts while attending the funeral.

Details of the Pope's funeral mass, due to take place at 10am local time ( 9am BST ) in St Peter's Square and celebrated by the dean of the College of Cardinals , were confirmed on Tuesday.

The news came as the first images of the late pontiff were published.

Francis's body was pictured lying in a private chapel in a wooden coffin dressed in red, with rosary beads draped across his hands.

His death, following a cerebral stroke that led to a coma and irreversible heart failure, prompted an outpouring of tributes across the globe.

The King, who met Francis earlier this month, said he was someone who had "profoundly touched the lives of so many", while Sir Keir described him as having been "a pope for the poor, the downtrodden and the forgotten".

Irish-born Cardinal Kevin Farrell - the camerlengo or senior Vatican official - will carry out the administrative and financial duties of the Holy See until a new pope takes over.

There is a nine-day period of mourning following the funeral, after which the secretive meeting - known as the conclave - to elect a new pope begins.

Pilgrims arrive in St Peter's Square at the Vatican on Tuesday | AP

Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols is among those travelling to Rome.

There are currently five cardinals across the UK and Ireland , although only three - Cardinal Nichols, Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe and Rome -based Cardinal Arthur Roche - are younger than 80 and therefore of voting age.

Cardinal Nichols, the leader of Catholics in England and Wales , presided over a Requiem Mass for Francis at Westminster Cathedral on Monday evening.

He told worshippers gathered in the London church that Francis had been a pope "filled with compassion, mercy, righteous indignation and irrepressible hope, for which we thank God".

Asked about the next pope at a separate press conference on Monday, Cardinal Nichols told reporters: "He has to be a man of great inner strength, and I think great inner peace."

He added: "I think those inner capacities of closeness to God and peace are the absolute essentials."

Cardinal Radcliffe said: "I think that we always open ourselves to be surprised. All recent popes have been quite different from each other."

Cardinals Nichols and Radcliffe both appeared to rule themselves out of the running to become the next pontiff.

Cardinal Nichols told reporters he was "too old, not capable", while Cardinal Radcliffe said he believed the Holy Spirit was "far too wise to even think of me (as pope) for the shortest moment".

Politicians at Holyrood joined together to pay tribute to Pope Francis on Tuesday, with First Minister John Swinney praising his lifetime of "faithful devotion and dedicated public service".

With flags flying at half-mast at the Scottish Parliament following the Pope's death on Monday, faith leaders from various religious communities in Scotland came to hear politicians pay their respects.

Leading tributes, Mr Swinney said: "He was always on the side of the poor and those who faced injustice, and he used his position of leadership to work for a better world."

While he said it was the Roman Catholic community in Scotland and abroad who would feel his loss "most acutely", Mr Swinney said Francis would be "mourned by countless others who admired, respected and were inspired by the humble, kind, empathetic spiritual leadership he gave to the world".

He said the Pope's leadership had been a "a powerful example" both to him and to "millions across the globe".

The First Minister added Francis had brought "simplicity and humility" to his role and as the first leader of the Roman Catholic Church to come from Latin America he had "sought to build new bridges between nations and faiths".

Noting the late Pope "regularly called for an end to bigotry and conflict" Mr Swinney added he had been "particularly outspoken" about the recent conflicts in Ukraine and in Gaza .

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: "Pope Francis was a voice for peace and reconciliation, he called again and again for peace in Ukraine , Palestine, Israel ."

Mr Sarwar described the late Pope as being a "remarkable man", who had had come from "humble origins" in the Argentinian capital of Buenos Aires .

He said the Pope had "dedicated himself to the work of mercy" throughout his life and had been a "constant voice for social justice in our world, standing up for the right of workers, demanding action on the climate crisis, and giving voice to the plight of refugees and the dispossessed worldwide".

He hailed Francis as having been a man who "opened his heart to the world and who dedicated his life to making our world a better place".

Scottish Conservative MSP Annie Wells hailed the late Pope as a "champion of compassion" and she spoke of the "true love of humanity" he brought to the role.