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The Kennedy clan put their bitter infighting to one side Monday to mark the passing of matriarch Ethel at a private funeral on Cape Cod.
Robert Kennedy Jr.’s cozy relationship with Donald Trump and his phone sex affair with a journalist were forgotten for a few hours as Ethel was laid to rest.
Family members banded together to accompany Ethel’s coffin, adorned with a huge bouquet of white roses, into the Our Lady of Victory Catholic church in Centerville, Massachusetts.
Several of her grandchildren, including former Congressman Joseph Kennedy II, were among those who carried her casket into the ceremony.
Ethel, who died aged 96 on Thursday last week following a stroke, had been spending time was surrounded by family members when she died in a Boston hospital
Robert F Kennedy Jr , 70, was accompanied by his wife Cheryl Hines to the ceremony, with the pair clutching each other amid their alleged marital woes
Max Kennedy (bearded at left) and his brother Joe II (right in glasses) were among the mourners at their mother Ethel’s funeral
The casket was carried out of the church by many of the Kennedy family men
But despite joining together for her birthday in April, fractures in the Kennedy family dynamic have been playing out in public, following RFK Jr’s decision to drop out of the presidential race and controversially back Donald Trump.
He has been touting his close relationship with the Republican candidate and turned his back on his family’s traditional Democratic support.
His mother was close to both President Biden and former President Barack Obama, with both paying their respects to her – though they did not attend the funeral.
RFK Jr. arrived at the service separately from the rest of the family, and was not part of the procession carrying his mother’s coffin.
The former presidential candidate was supported by his wife Cheryl Hines, who rushed to his side in Hyannis Port despite the couple’s marriage being under intense scrutiny following his details of his relationship with New York Magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi leaking out.
Curb Your Enthusiasm star Hines clutched her husband’s hand as they entered the church, before sharing a few words with the rest of the family.
Kerry Kennedy was accompanied by her ex-husband Andrew Cuomo along with their three daughters, Mariah, Michaela and Cara. Cuomo and Kennedy split in 2003 after 13 years of marriage and divorced two years later.
The fun-loving Kennedys found Andrew too staid and serious for their tastes.
They were joined by Max Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy, Anthony Shriver, former Congressmen Joe Kennedy II and Joe Kennedy III among others.
Only close friends and family were invited to the private ceremony, with many showing up in military dress to pay their respects.
Members of the family were escorted to the compound by Barnstable Police as well as a security detail, with officers standing guard at the entrance to the church and surrounding area.
Following the service a private wake was held close to the family compound at the exclusive Hyannisport Club.
RFK Jr. arrived separately from the rest of the family and was not part of the entourage supporting his mother’s coffin.
Bobby has been locked in a war of words with his siblings and other members of the famously-Democrat family over his run for the presidency, and then once he dropped out, his support for Donald Trump.
Five of his siblings issued a statement in August on the day he went public with his backing for the former president saying: ‘Our brother Bobby’s decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear.
‘It is a sad ending to a sad story,’ the statement from Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Courteney Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, Chris Kennedy and Rory Kennedy added.
Joe Kennedy III, Bobby’s nephew, shared the message on X, writing that it was ‘well said’.
Members of the family were escorted to the compound by Barnstable Police as well as a security detail, with officers standing guard at the entrance to the church and surrounding area
Mourners marked their respects during the hour-long mass, with bells tolling at 11am as the coffin entered the church
Joseph Kennedy III is seen walking out of the tiny Cape Cod church with the casket
Former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland Kathleen Kennedy Townsend gives her brother Max Kennedy a hug after the service
Then Jack Schlossberg, President John Kennedy’s grandson, said he had ‘never been less surprised in his life,’ than he was about his uncle’s decision.
‘Been saying it for over a year – RFKjr is for sale, works for Trump. Bedfellows and loving it,” he posted.
‘Kamala Harris is for the people – the easiest decision of all time just got easier.’
Mourners marked their respects during the hour-long mass, with bells tolling at 11am as the coffin entered the church.
Ethel was the mother of eleven children with late Senator Kennedy whom she was married to from 1950 up until his assassination in 1968.
At the time of his death, she was pregnant with their youngest child, Rory, whom the senator never got to meet.
After Kennedy was killed, she founded the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights and worked tirelessly for world peace.
In April, Kennedy celebrated her final birthday surrounded by her family including children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Monday’s funeral came after close friends and family packed out the Kennedy family compound on Sunday for a low-key service.
Family, friends and former employees of the Ethel spend three hours in the multi-million-dollar property in Hyannis Port.
Members of the Kennedy family welcomed those who had been nearest and dearest to Ethel, with many bringing photographs of her to mark the service.
Vehicles lined the streets near the compound, with security blocking anyone without an invitation to the memorial.
Relatives and friends packed into the compound, with many swapping stories and others bringing flowers and food offerings.
The family seemed to have skipped their usual tradition of taking their sailboat, Glide, out on the water together to mark a death in the family.
Cheryl Hines chats with her husband’s daughter Kyra outside the church
Close friends and family packed out the Kennedy family compound on Sunday for a low-key service
Family, friends and former employees of the Ethel spend three hours in the multi-million-dollar property in Hyannis Port
The casket is taken from Our Lady of Victory church in Centerville, Massachusetts
The priests walk out of the church, holding a service card with Ethel’s face adorned
Pictured: The order of service for Ethel Kennedy’s funeral
Max Kennedy, 59, and his sister Rory, 55, took to the water in Hyannis Port the day of their mother’s passing, with the elder sibling posting a touching tribute to his mother.
‘My mother promised my sister Rory the other day, that if she went to Heaven, she would ask God to send us a rainbow’, he said, posting an image of the northern lights from the compound.
‘This just happened over our home and my father’s childhood home next door. No one living can remember the Northern Lights visible in Hyannis Port.’
The siblings were joined at the compound by their brother RFk Jr, though he did not join them on the sailing expedition.
It comes after DailyMail.com exclusive photos showed the former presidential candidate cozying up to his wife, Cheryl Hines, following allegations of an affair.
Hines rushed to comfort her grieving husband following the death of his mother, after his affair with political reporter Olivia Nuzzi was exposed.
The loss of the Kennedy dynasty matriarch, Ethel appears to have thawed any lingering frostiness between the couple following his alleged affair with Nuzzi, 31.
Rumors had been swirling that Hines was planning to divorce the former presidential candidate, following allegations he had a sexting relationship with the suspended New York magazine reporter.
Max Kennedy, 59, and his sister Rory, 55, took to the water in Hyannis Port the day of their mother’s passing, with the elder sibling posting a touching tribute to his mother
Andrew Cuomo, former governor of New York and former husband of Kerry Kennedy, gives daughter Michaela a kiss as he hugs her sister Cara
The couple appeared under strain when seen together a week ago, looking grim faced as they drove to a Starbucks in Malibu, California.
Both made their way to Massachusetts separately, with RFK arriving in the early hours of Saturday morning, two days after the death of his mother.
She left a touching message on his Instagram tribute to his mother, widow of former United States Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, after she died of a stroke.
Hines also made no mention of her acrimony with her husband, but did mention RFK Jr. while posting a tribute to her mother-in-law on Thursday.
‘Her charisma, wisdom and strength will live on with me in every memory of her. Bobby and I spent many warm nights in Hyannis Port having dinner with her and hearing stories from her extraordinary life,’ Hines continued.
‘She always made me laugh. She was never too serious except when she needed to be. She dressed to nines with bare feet. She will be missed. My love is with the family.’
U.S. Senator Ed Markey, who fought off a primary challenge from Joseph Kennedy III in 2020, arrives at the funeral
Family and friends of Ethel Kennedy celebrated the woman’s stellar life over the weekend
Hines left a touching message on his Instagram tribute to his mother, widow of former United States Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, after she died of a stroke
Former Massachusetts U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy II is seen arriving at the services
DailyMail.com spotted RFK Jr. California on Thursday exiting a car, wearing button down shirt, blue jeans and glasses.
Kennedy posted his own tribute to his beloved mother on social media later Thursday.
‘She wrung joy from every moment, but for 56 years she has spoken with yearning of the day she would reunite with her beloved husband,’ he wrote.
‘She is with him now, with my brothers David and Michael, with her parents, her six siblings, all of whom predeceased her, and her “adopted” Kennedy siblings Jack, Kick, Joe, Teddy, Eunice, Jean, Rosemary, and Patricia.’
His final words on his mother: ‘I credit her for all my virtues. I’m grateful for her generosity in overlooking my faults.’
Hines and RFK Jr. got coffee together last week despite reports that the two have barely spoken over the past two weeks since reports surfaced of his alleged affair with Nuzzi.
Former U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, a son of U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, arrives for the funeral mass
Joseph Kennedy III, center right, grandson of the late Ethel Kennedy arrives at Our Lady of Victory church. To his right is his aunt Rory Kennedy
Mourners, including U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern gathered on Cape Cod to celebrate the life of the political matriarch
Late last month, Nuzzi, 31, the Washington, D.C. star political correspondent for New York magazine, acknowledged having a sexting relationship with Kennedy, 70, while covering his campaign.
Kennedy, who suspended his independent bid for president and threw his support behind Donald Trump in August, claimed the two had only met once when Nuzzi interviewed him for the magazine.
Nuzzi’s ex-fiancé Ryan Lizza is reportedly taking a ‘leave of absence’ after a bombshell court filing alleged he blackmailed her over her rumored affair.
Nuzzi claimed in DC Supreme Court that Lizza ‘explicitly threatened to make public personal information about me to destroy my life, career, and reputation—a threat he has since carried out.’
Lizza will be taking a mutually-agreed leave of absence from his work at Politico.