King Charles chooses William over brother Edward to represent him

Prince William took precedence over his uncle Prince Edward as King Charles chose  his heir to attend the funeral of Pope Francis. 

There was speculation among royals fans about the king's decision following announcement the pontiff's death on Monday.

Some were convinced that it would be Edward since he has been representing the monarch on important occasions lately.

The Duke of Edinburgh recently attended the funeral of former US president Jimmy Carter.

Edward's wife, Duchess Sophie, was sent to attend the funeral of former Italian president a couple of years ago.

Given their diplomatic experience and willingness to discharge royal duties, royal fans were expecting  that one of them would be the king's obvious choice given Kate Middleton's ongoing health issues.

Below are the names of the world leaders who would be attending the funeral:

BELGIUM - King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, Prime Minister Bart De Wever.

BRITAIN - Prince William and Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

BRAZIL - President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and first lady Janja Lula da Silva.

EUROPEAN UNION - Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Council President Antonio Costa, Parliament President Roberta Metsola.

EAST TIMOR - President Jose Ramos-Horta, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Bendito Freitas.

FRANCE - President Emmanuel Macron.

GERMANY - President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

HUNGARY - President Tamas Sulyok.

ITALY - President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

LATVIA - President Edgars Rinkevics.

LITHUANIA - President Gitanas Nauseda.

POLAND - President Andrzej Duda.

ROMANIA - Interim President Ilie Bolojan.

SPAIN - King Felipe and Queen Letizia.

SWITZERLAND - President Karin Keller-Sutter.

UKRAINE - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

UNITED STATES - President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump... Web Desk/ Reuters