King Charles III: Edward represents him at Carter’s funeral service

King Charles III (76) has apparently given his youngest brother Prince Edward (60) a new important role in representing the British royal family. The Duke of Edinburgh is scheduled to travel to the US this week to attend the state funeral of former President Jimmy Carter (1924-2024) on Thursday (January 9). This emerges from the “Royal Diary” of the royal family. The personnel is now being hotly debated in the British media.

British media had previously reported that neither King Charles nor his eldest son Prince William (42) would pay their last respects to the former US president. However, the monarch paid tribute to him in a statement. It reads: “It is with great sadness that I learned of the death of President Carter. He was a dedicated public servant and dedicated his life to promoting peace and human rights. His dedication and humility served as an inspiration to many and I remember his visit with great joy in the United Kingdom in 1977.”

Jimmy Carter was the 39th President of the USA from 1977 to 1981 and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. He died on December 29, 2024 at the age of 100 at his home in Georgia, where he had been receiving hospice care for almost two years. After his death, funeral ceremonies began on January 4th, which will last six days and end with the burial on January 9th.

According to British media, it is unclear whether William and Charles’ absence is due to other commitments or security concerns. Since the king’s cancer diagnosis in early 2023, the heir to the throne has taken part in various events on behalf of his father, such as the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris at the end of 2024. While writing of a great honor for Prince Edward, he critically asked whether the Prince of Wales would not have been “a more suitable choice” for the funeral in the USA “than the 14th in line to the throne”. But William was probably unable to attend because of the birthday of his wife Kate, who will be 43 on January 9th.

Even if “only” Prince Edward will represent the Royal Family: the presence of a British royal at Carter’s funeral is certainly a special feature. Only for two presidents, Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) and George Bush senior. (1924-2018), according to the Daily Mail, a member of the royal family traveled to the funeral: Charles in his former role as Prince of Wales.