King Charles and Queen Camilla visit Pope Francis

King Charles and Queen Camilla during their visit to the Colosseum yesterday

Source: Vatican Media

King Charles and Queen Camilla had a private meeting with Pope Francis this afternoon. The date marked their 20th wedding anniversary and the fourth anniversary of the death of the King's father, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

The meeting took place at Casa Santa Marta, where the Pope has been convalescing for the past two weeks after being released from Gemelli Hospital.

In a statement released on Wednesday evening, the Holy See Press Office said: "Pope Francis met privately with Their Majesties, King Charles and Queen Camilla, this afternoon. In the course of the meeting, the Pope expressed his best wishes to Their Majesties on the occasion of their wedding anniversary and reciprocated His Majesty's wishes for a speedy recovery of his health."

The Pope's best wishes were a reference to the King's condition, following his hospitalisation at the end of March due to the side effects of treatment for cancer, which was diagnosed a year ago.

An official meeting with the Pope had been announced by Buckingham Palace at the beginning of March, during Pope Francis' hospitalization due to bilateral pneumonia.

The initial announcement explained that the Royals would spend the first segment of their trip to Italy to celebrate the Jubilee with the Pontiff at the Vatican.

A later note, on 24 March, announced that King Charles III and Queen Camilla would no longer be seeing the Pope due to needs related to his convalescence: "Their Majesties send the Pope their best wishes for his convalescence and look forward to visiting him in the Holy See, once he has recovered."

The King and Queen were able to express their best wishes in person during their audience today.

During their three-day visit to Rome, the British monarchs met with the President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. On Wednesday, the King also became the first British Monarch to address the assembled Houses of Parliament in Montecitorio.

King Charles III is not only the Sovereign of the United Kingdom and 14 other commonwealth countries, but is also Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

In 2019, on the eve of the canonisation of Cardinal John Henry Newman, the first Briton in over forty years to be proclaimed a Saint, the then-Prince of Wales published an article in L'Osservatore Romano, calling the event "a cause of celebration not merely in the United Kingdom, and not merely for Catholics, but for all who cherish the values by which he was inspired."

The future King was later present for the canonisation ceremony at the Vatican on 13 October 2019, at the end of which he greeted Pope Francis.