King Charles III and Queen Camilla had an Audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican on April 9th, in the midst of their State Visit to the Republic of Italy, and ahead of the State Banquet at the Palazzo Quirinale.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla had a private audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican in lieu of their cancelled State Visit to the Vatican, due to the Pope’s ill health.
Che occasione speciale!
A special moment for Their Majesties as they privately met His Holiness Pope Francis at the Vatican yesterday.
The King and Queen were deeply touched by The Pope’s kind remarks about their 20th wedding anniversary and honoured to be able to share their best wishes to him in person.
Queen Camilla wore the Greville Ivy Leaf Clips.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla are on a State Visit to the Republic of Italy, to underscore the depth and breadth of the bilateral relationship: the defence relationship; shared values, history and culture; and the links between peoples and communities, which is the latest in over a century of British Royal Visits to Italy.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella and his daughter, Laura Mattarella, hosted a State Banquet for King Charles III and Queen Camilla at the Quirinal Palace in Rome, on their 20th Wedding Anniversary. Both the King and President gave speeches.
“Today marks, as you say, The Queen’s and my twentieth wedding anniversary.
On that score, I must say it really is very good of you, Mr. President, to lay on this small romantic, candle-lit dinner for two…!”
Queen Camilla wore her Turquoise Necklace and Modern Diamond Earrings with the Queen Mother’s Cartier Bracelets and a insignia of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrived at Ciampino 31st Wing Airport in Rome on the evening of April 7th, before three photos of the King and Queen were released to mark their 20th wedding anniversary, taken at Villa Wolkonsky in Rome.
As we begin our first visit to Italy as King and Queen, we are so looking forward to celebrating our twentieth wedding anniversary in such a special place – and with such wonderful people! A presto, Roma e Ravenna!
King Charles III and Queen Camilla (wearing Prince Albert’s Sapphire Brooch.) were received by President Sergio Mattarella of Italy and his daughter, Laura Mattarella at the Quirinal Palace, where there was a Guard of Honour and a joint flypast over Rome by the Italian Air Force aerobatic team, ‘Frecce Tricolori’ and by the Royal Air Force acrobatic team, the Red Arrows.
Afterwards, the King and Queen had an audience with President Sergio Mattarella and Laura Mattarella inside the Quirinal Palace, with an exchange of honours, with the Royal Couple receiving the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla then laid a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Altar of the Fatherland in Rome before going to visit the Colosseum.
In the evening, the King and Queen (wearing Queen Mary’s Celtic Knot Brooch and her Coronation Earrings) attended a Reception to meet members of the British-Italian community at Villa Wolkonsky, the official residence of His Majesty’s Ambassador to Italy and San Marino in Rome.
On the third day of the State Visit, King Charles III met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the Villa Doria Pamphili, while Queen Camilla visited the Istituto Comprensivo Alessandro Manzoni in Rome. The King also engaged with dramatic arts students, and watched a short Shakespeare performance in Italian at the Mattatoio, celebrating the influence of the renowned playwright and poet on Italian culture.
Afterwards, Queen Camilla (wearing her Wedding Outfit on her 20th Anniversary) joined the King as he gave a speech to the Italian Parliament in Italian and English emphasising the close ties between Britain and Italy.
I am here today with one purpose: to reaffirm the deep friendship between the United Kingdom and Italy, and to pledge to do all in my power to strengthen that friendship even further in the time that is granted to me as King.
The strong bilateral relationship between the U.K. and Italy will be celebrated with a series of ceremonial engagements during Their Majesties’ State Visit. In Rome, on April 9th, as well as His Majesty’s audiences with President Mattarella and Prime Minister Meloni,
The King will be the first British Monarch to address a joint session of the Italian Parliament. Their Majesties will also attend a State Banquet at the Palazzo Quirinale, hosted by The President.
Following the State Visit to Italy in 1903, King Victor Emmanuel III and Queen Elena of Italy hosted King George V and Queen Mary on their State Visit to Italy in 1923, which also included the first British State Visit to the Vatican.
The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh visited Rome and Naples on their State Visit to the Italy in 1961, with a State Banquet in honour of the Queen (in the Vladimir Tiara) at the Qurinale, a performance of Verdi’s Falstaff at the Rome Opera House, and a Return Banquet held by the Queen (wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara) at the British Embassy in Rome.
The Queen (wearing the Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara) and Duke of Edinburgh also had an Audience with Pope John XXIII at the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City during their State Visit to the Vatican.
There was also a State Banquet in honour of the Queen (in the Vladimir Tiara) at the Qurinale on her State Visit to Italy in 1980, which also included a State Visit to Pope John Pal II at the Vatican.
The Prince and Princess of Wales visited Rome, the Vatican, Milan, Florence, Anzio, and Venice on their visit to Italy in 1985.
The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh returned to Italy for a State Visit in 2000, with the Queen again wearing the Vladimir Tiara for the State Banquet at the Qurinale.
The Queen also made a visit to the Vatican in 2014, which was one of her last foreign visits.
More recently, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall visited Florence, Vicenza, Naples, Amatrice, and Rome on their six-day visit to Italy in 2017.
Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara
Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara
Burmese Ruby Tiara
The Belgian Sapphire Tiara
Greville Tiara
Delhi Durbar Tiara
Cubitt-Shand Tiara
George IV State Diadem
Queen Mary’s Crown
Greville Festoon Necklace
Coronation Necklace
King George VI Sapphire Suite
Modern Diamond Suite
Diamond Serpent Necklace
Turquoise Suite
Queen Camilla’s Chokers
City of London Fringe Necklace
Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation Rivière
South African Diamond Necklace
Prince Albert’s Sapphire Brooch
Queen Mother’s Diamond Thistle Brooch
Queen Mary’s Russian Sapphire Cluster Brooch
Princess Marie Louise’s Diamond Sunburst Brooch
Queen Mother’s Rock Crystal Brooch
Queen Mary’s Celtic Knot Brooch
Prince of Wales Feathers Brooch
Queen Victoria’s Hessian Diamond Jubilee Brooch
Queen Alexandra’s Ladies of North Wales Leek Brooch
