Royal correspondent
Getty ImagesKing Charles and Queen Camilla met Pope Francis on Wednesday afternoon for a private meeting at the Vatican that lasted 20 minutes.
The Pope has been suffering from ill health and the King and Queen had to postpone a planned visit to the Vatican – but the pontiff has seemed to be recovering, and appeared in public at the weekend in St Peter’s Square.
Buckingham Palace says the King and Queen, on the third day of their state visit to Italy, were “delighted the Pope was well enough to host them – and to have had the opportunity to share the…
Delivering some of the speech in Italian, he spoke of the long history between the UK and Italy and shared culture, going back to the ancient Romans arriving on Britain’s “windswept shores”.
Part of the culture being returned was musicians such as Ed Sheeran playing in Italy.
The King told the Parliament that he wanted to strengthen links to Italy, a “country dear to my heart”.
As head of the Commonwealth, he also spoke of the role of Canadian troops in helping to liberate Italy in the Second World War.
The speech went down well with the assembled Parliamentarians – with the applause so long at one point that an Italian official began speaking to thank him, assuming that the King had finished.
The King began the day by meeting Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, receiving a ceremonial red-carpet welcome at the Villa Doria Pamphili, on the outskirts of Rome.
The King and Meloni seemed to be having an animated conversation, with the politician a fluent English speaker, as they walked around the 17th Century palace’s gardens.
PA MediaA military band on horseback lined up in front of the palace to greet the King, against the villa’s backdrop of orange trees and views stretching over St Peter’s and the Vatican.
The royal couple will spend the evening of their wedding anniversary at a state banquet at the Quirinale Palace, an event likely to be a showcase for local food and for a guest list of celebrities and dignitaries.
The King and Queen have been given a warm reception on their trip to Italy, posing for photos on Tuesday as they met crowds outside the Colosseum, near the ancient site of the Temple of Venus.
There were calls of “Carlo” – Italian for Charles – from crowds waiting to see the royal visitors and local media also seemed interested by their car, the claret coloured State Bentley.
Back home at Buckingham Palace, there was a musical tribute to mark the royal couple’s wedding anniversary.
The Royal Family’s official X account posted a video which showed guards playing a brass version of Madness’s 1981 hit It Must Be Love.
Getty Images
Getty Images