Ethel Kennedy’s funeral: RFK Jr is joined by mourning family in Cape Cod to celebrate matriarch’s life

Mourners packed the steps of a tiny Cape Cod church to mark the passing of matriarch Ethel Kennedy following her death from a stroke.

Family members banded together to accompany the coffin, adorned with a huge bouquet of white roses, into the Our Lady of Victory Catholic church in Centerville, Massachusetts on Monday.

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.

They were joined by Max Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy, Anthony Shriver, former Congressmen Joe Kennedy II and Kennedy III.

Only close friends and family were invited to the private ceremony 

The casket was carried out of the church by many of the Kennedy family men

Only close friends and family were invited to the private ceremony, with many showing up in their formal 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.

RFK Jr arrived separately from the rest of the family and was not part of the entourage supporting his mother’s coffin, though it is unclear if this was for security reasons. 

Former president Barack Obama and President Biden paid their respects to the legendary 96-year-old, but did not attend the service in person.

Mourners marked their respects during the hour-long mass, with bells tolling at 11am as the coffin entered the church.

Ethel is 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, she was pregnant with their youngest child, a daughter the senator never got to meet.

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 

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 96th birthday surrounded by her family including children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

It comes 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 adjacent to 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.

Ethel is the mother of eleven children with late Senator Kennedy whom she was married to from 1950 up until his assassination in 1968

It comes 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

The casket is taken from Our Lady of Victory 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, on Thursday, 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

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

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.’

Andrew Cuomo, former governor of New York and former husband of Kerry Kennedy, was also present to pay his respects to his ex-wife’s family

U.S. Senator Ed Markey (left) arrives at the funeral, held at a church in Massachusetts 

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

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

Kennedy posted his own tribute to his beloved mother on social media later Thursday

Former Massachusetts U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy II, center right, 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

RFK Jr.’s final words on his mother: ‘I credit her for all my virtues. I’m grateful for her generosity in overlooking my faults.’

Family and friends entering the church

Mourners, including U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern (pictured center) 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.