Charles and Camilla to meet Pope Leo as Vatican state visit begins in earnest

The King and Queen begin their two-day state visit to the Vatican in earnest by meeting Pope Leo XIV for the first time since he was elected to office.

Charles and Camilla, who arrived in Rome on Wednesday evening, will be greeted by Pope Leo in his official residence, the Apostolic Palace ahead of a historic day of events.

The state visit to the Holy See, the government of the Roman Catholic Church in the Vatican, is understood to be deeply significant for the King personally and will celebrate the Papal Jubilee held every 25 years.

During an ecumenical service in the famous Sistine Chapel, the King, Supreme Governor of the Church of England, will become the first British monarch to pray at a public service with the Pope, head of the Catholic Church, since the Reformation.

The King and Queen will later attend a service at the Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls, where a special seat has been created for Charles, which will remain at the place of worship for use by his successors.

Charles will also be recognised for the British monarchy’s historic association with the basilica, the seat of a Benedictine Abbey, and will be made “Royal Confrater” of the abbey as, in centuries past, monarchs provided for the upkeep of the tomb of St Paul at the basilica.

The state visit will end with the King attending a reception at the Pontifical Beda College, a seminary training priests from across the Commonwealth, and the Queen will meet six Catholic sisters from the International Union of Superiors General.

The King and Queen were due to make the state visit to the Holy See in April but the health problems of Pope Francis meant the trip was postponed, although the couple did privately meet the pontiff, who died later that month.

The King has also met two of Pope Leo’s predecessors – Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II.