The Kennedy family gathered in New York City to say goodbye to Tatiana Schlossberg, and the guest list spoke volumes. While the pews filled with relatives and political heavyweights, sources say Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was kept off the invite list, a deliberate move that turned a private farewell into a fresh chapter in a very public family rift.
The intimate service, held for a granddaughter of John F. Kennedy who died at 35, was designed to be tightly controlled, emotionally focused, and free of the drama that has followed Kennedy Jr. in recent years. Instead of a unifying moment, the funeral quietly underlined just how far he now sits from the center of the clan.
The quiet New York City goodbye
The funeral for Tatiana Schlossberg brought her family and close friends into New York City for what insiders describe as a small, carefully curated gathering. Relatives arrived in New York City on Jan. 5 for the service, with reporting noting that Tatiana Schlossberg’s family and friends were coming together in New York City for her funeral, a reminder that even one of America’s most scrutinized dynasties can still close ranks when it wants to keep something close to the vest, as seen in coverage that framed the event as an ultra private moment in New York City. The mood, by all accounts, was somber and tightly managed, with the focus on Tatiana rather than the political noise that often trails the Kennedy name.
Inside the church, the family leaned on ritual and history. The service took place at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola on Park Avenue, the same Manhattan parish that hosted the memorial for Jackie Kennedy Onassis, a detail that underscored how Tatiana, as one of the grandchildren of John F. Kennedy, was being honored within the same symbolic space as her grandmother, with reports noting that Schlossberg, the daughter of Edwin Schlossberg and Caroline Kennedy, was one of the grandchildren of John F. Kennedy and that the church had also been used for Jackie’s memorial in a piece that highlighted how the funeral was held at the same church as her grandmother’s service for Schlossberg. That choice of venue signaled continuity, even as the absence of one high profile cousin hinted at just how much has changed inside the family.
Who showed up, and who very clearly did not
Inside the church, the family presence was unmistakable. Jack Schlossberg was seen at Tatiana Schlossberg’s funeral alongside their father, Edwin Schlossberg, in New York City, a visual reminder of the tight bond among Caroline Kennedy’s children and their parents, with images and reporting noting Jack Schlossberg at the service with Edwin Schlossberg in New York City on Jan. 5, 2026, and that many other Kennedy relatives, including Christopher, Christina and Katherine Schwarzenegger, as well as Joe Kennedy III and his wife, joined the funeral service with other relatives, all gathered at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola on Park Avenue, which was also the site of Jackie Kennedy’s memorial, as detailed in coverage of Jack Schlossberg. The turnout from cousins and political figures reinforced that, for most of the clan, this was a moment to show up and stand shoulder to shoulder.
Conspicuously absent from that tableau was Robert F. Kennedy Jr. While the church filled with Kennedys and other notable public figures, he was not among them, a fact that did not go unnoticed given his high profile and the family’s long history of public unity in times of loss. Coverage of the gathering in New York City made clear that Tatiana Schlossberg’s loved ones came together for an intimate funeral in NYC as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was excluded from the ceremony, with one account explicitly describing how Tatiana Schlossberg’s loved ones gathered at an intimate funeral in NYC as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was excluded from the ceremony, underscoring that the service was designed to be a family centric event without his presence, as detailed in a report on how Tatiana Schlossberg’s loved ones gathered at an intimate funeral in NYC.
Tatiana’s life, and why this loss hit so hard
Part of what made the service feel so raw was the sense that Tatiana Schlossberg’s story had been cut short. She was an Environmental journalist and one of three grandchildren of the late president, remembered for her work explaining climate and environmental issues in accessible language, with one detailed obituary noting that Environmental journalist Tatiana Schlossberg, one of three grandchildren of the late president, died at 35 and had built a career translating complex climate science into stories readers would not find anywhere else, as described in a profile of Environmental journalist Tatiana Schlossberg. Her death from a rare form of leukemia at 35 left a young family and a body of work that had only just begun to take shape.
For the Kennedys, the loss was not just personal but symbolic. Tatiana Schlossberg, the granddaughter of John F. Kennedy who died at 35 from a rare form of leukemia, was honored at a private funeral where the family mourned another member of a generation that had tried to carry forward the legacy of public service in a quieter, more modern way, as seen in coverage that described how Tatiana Schlossberg, the granddaughter of John F. Kennedy who died at 35, was mourned by the Kennedy family at a private funeral in Jan. Another report on the funeral emphasized that Schlossberg, the daughter of Edwin Schlossberg and Caroline Kennedy, died at 35 from a rare form of cancer and that she was one of the grandchildren of John F. Kennedy, reinforcing how her death at 35 from a rare form of cancer hit a family that has already endured more than its share of early losses, as detailed in a piece noting that Schlossberg, the daughter of Edwin Schlossberg and Caroline Kennedy, died at 35 from a rare form of cancer and that the story was updated on Jan. 6, 202, in coverage of 202.
Why Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was kept away
The decision to leave Robert F. Kennedy Jr. off the guest list was not a last minute oversight, according to people familiar with the planning. Reporting has made clear that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was Not Invited to Tatiana Schlossberg’s Funeral, with sources saying her protective parents did not want extra scrutiny or controversy around the service, a framing that underscores how Caroline Kennedy and Edwin Schlossberg were determined to keep the focus on their daughter rather than on the cousin whose political and personal choices have drawn intense attention, as described in a piece that stated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was Not Invited to Tatiana Schlossberg’s Funeral as her protective parents did not want extra scrutiny or controversy in connection with the Funeral. Another account echoed that framing, noting that Robert F Kennedy Jr. was not invited to Tatiana Schlossberg’s funeral as her protective parents did not want extra scrutiny or controversy, reinforcing that this was a deliberate boundary rather than a scheduling conflict, as detailed in a report that stated Robert F Kennedy Jr. was not invited to Tatiana Schlossberg’s funeral as her protective parents did not want extra scrutiny or controversy around Tatiana Schlossberg.
Some coverage went even further in its language, describing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as effectively banned from the service. One video segment framed it bluntly, saying RFK Jr. was banned from Tatiana Schlossberg’s funeral and that Robert F Kennedy Jr has reportedly not been invited to the funeral and that the intimate service will not include RFK Jr., a phrasing that captured just how stark the line was between him and the rest of the family at this moment, as seen in a clip that stated RFK Jr was banned from Tatiana Schlossberg’s funeral and that Robert F Kennedy Jr has reportedly not been invited and that the service will not include RFK. Another detailed write up on the gathering noted that Tatiana Schlossberg’s Loved Ones Gather at Intimate Funeral in NYC as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Is Excluded From Ceremony, describing how Tatiana Schlossberg’s Loved Ones Gather at an Intimate Funeral in NYC as Robert was excluded, which underscored that the family circle that day was intentionally drawn without him, as reported in a piece that highlighted how Tatiana Schlossberg’s Loved Ones Gather at an Intimate Funeral in NYC as Loved Ones Gather.
A family feud years in the making
The tension did not start at the church doors. Caroline Kennedy has already made her feelings about her cousin public, and in unusually sharp terms for a family that usually keeps its disputes behind closed doors. In a warning letter to senators, Caroline Kennedy called her cousin RFK a predator, urging lawmakers to reject him and framing her criticism as a matter of public concern, a striking move that signaled just how far she was willing to go to distance herself from his behavior, as described in reporting that stated Caroline Kennedy calls cousin RFK a predator in a warning letter to senators in a piece carried by PBS News. A separate video breakdown of that letter noted that Jan was when Caroline Kennedy released a scathing warning about her cousin, saying that Kennedy had just released a scathing warning about her cousin Robert F Kennedy Jr and urging senators to reject him, further cementing the idea that this is not a quiet disagreement but a full scale break, as summarized in a segment that explained how Jan was when Kennedy released a scathing warning about her cousin Robert in a video posted on Jan.
Against that backdrop, the choice to keep Robert F. Kennedy Jr. away from Tatiana’s funeral looks less like a one off snub and more like the latest expression of a long running split. Earlier coverage of the funeral plans had already signaled that Robert F Kennedy Jr. was not invited to Tatiana Schlossberg’s funeral as her protective parents did not want extra scrutiny or controversy, with one report flatly stating that Robert F Kennedy Jr. was not invited to Tatiana Schlossberg’s funeral as her protective parents did not want extra scrutiny or controversy around the event, reinforcing that the family’s priority was shielding their daughter’s farewell from the political storm that tends to follow him, as detailed in a piece that emphasized that Robert F Kennedy Jr was not invited to Tatiana Schlossberg. Another account framed it similarly, noting that Jan was when Robert, Kennedy Jr was described as not invited to Tatiana Schlossberg’s funeral, with the story emphasizing that Jan was when Robert, Kennedy Jr and Tatiana Schlossberg were linked in coverage that stressed he was not invited, highlighting how far he has drifted from the inner circle, as captured in a piece that stated Jan was when Robert, Kennedy Jr and Tatiana Schlossberg were mentioned together in the context of his exclusion from the Not Invited service.
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