Prince William is set to join Donald Trump and other world leaders at the reopening ceremony of the Notre Dame cathedral five years after it was gutted by a devastating fire.
The Prince of Wales, 42, will be heading to Paris for the opening ceremony of the 800-year-old building, which has been rebuilt after being ravaged by a huge fire in April, 2019.
Millions watched live as the wooden spire and roof were engulfed by the inferno, which likely started either by a cigarette or a short circuit in the electrical system.
It’s taken more than five years to rebuild the iconic landmark in the French capital after £582,000,000 was donated to the restoration project.
Prince William accepted an invitation from French President Emmanuel Macron to attend Notre Dame’s grand re-opening, on Saturday – with US President-elect Donald Trump among the VIPs set to join the royal at the service.
The spectacle will be led by Laurent Ulrich, the Catholic archbishop of Paris, with more than 1,500 guests expected to pack into the newly-refurbished cathedral for the service.
The ceremony will begin when archbishop Ulrich bangs on the Notre Dame’s great doors with his crosier, a staff created by the designer Sylvain Dubuisson using pieces of wood from the cathedral roof, which collapsed in the blaze.
After the opening rites, Ulrich will then address the great organ, which has not been heard in public since the fire five years ago ravaged its 8,000 pipes.
William will be representing his father, King Charles, during the reopening – with the landmark world event underlining the Prince’s growing role as a statesman.
However, it’s believed the Prince of Wales will not attend the second part of the grand re-opening on Sunday, which will involve an inaugural mass that will see the main altar being consecrated.
The heir to the throne’s upcoming trip to Paris this weekend comes after King Charles made a state visit to France last year.
This week, the King revealed he was ‘delighted’ to see Notre Dame had been restored to its former glory.
Meanwhile. in a rare joint engagement at the French ambassador’s residence to promote her literary prize, Queen Camilla was presented with a book about the cathedral by Brigitte Macron, President Macron’s wife.
The Catholic faithful are so eager to worship again inside Notre Dame that tickets for the first week of Masses were snapped up in 25 minutes, the cathedral’s rector said.
On the evening of April 15 2019, millions around the globe watched on in horror as live pictures were broadcast of orange flames ripping through the roof of the cathedral, before the 19th Century spire came crashing down to the ground.
Some 600 firefighters battled the inferno for 15 hours. Miraculously, no one was killed or injured during the catastrophe.
