Duke to represent Queen at inaugural Rome mass

The Queen, head of the Church of England, has never attended the event but is usually represented, although this has happened only in recent years.

In 2005 the Duke of Edinburgh represented the Queen at Pope Benedict XVI’s inaugural mass, while the Prince of Wales represented his mother at the funeral of Pope John Paul II.

Suffering from symptoms of gastroenteritis, the Queen pulled out of a number of public events this week. Buckingham Palace said she would still carry out her duties within her official London home.

The Queen’s second son, the Duke of York, told staff this week at the London headquarters of Yammer, an enterprise social network firm in Shoreditch, that it is “more sensible not to risk her coming out at the moment, but she’s not ill”.

The papal inaugural mass, when Pope Francis is officially installed as new leader of the Roman Catholic Church, is in St Peter’s Square, Vatican City on Tuesday.

The Duke of Gloucester, who will be accompanied by his wife the Duchess of Gloucester, attended the beatification of Pope John-Paul in 2011 and was in Rome to celebrate the teaching and history of the British Pontifical Colleges last year.

The Bishop of Guildford, the Rt Rev Christopher Hill, said he would also be present in Rome for the inauguration as part of a wider Anglican Communion delegation.

Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday said he disagreed with the new pope, Francis I, over the future of the Falkland Islands.

Pope Francis, who is a former Archbishop of Buenos Aires, has previously described the disputed islands as “Argentinian soil” which was “usurped” by Britain.

But Mr Cameron yesterday urged all world leaders to respect the overwhelming 99.8 per cent vote in this week’s Falklands referendum in favour of remaining a British Overseas Territory, saying: “The people of these islands have chosen very clearly the future they want and that choice should be respected by everyone.”