The delicate diplomacy of the seating plan for the Pope’s funeral

Mourners have queued to enter St Peter’s Basilica to view Pope Francis’s open coffin ahead of his funeral (PA)

The seating plan for international leaders at the funeral of Pope Francis is a delicate effort in diplomacy.

It has been described as a “master plan” in stage-managing the “big egos” of world leaders by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the leader of Catholics in England and Wales.