Pope Francis on Wednesday, holds a private meeting with Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla at the Vatican during their ongoing state visit to Italy.
According to the official statements from both Buckingham Palace and the Vatican, the meeting, which was not previously announced, comes after a previously scheduled formal state visit to the Vatican had been postponed.
The visit was delayed due to the Pope’s health, following a serious bout of double pneumonia that saw doctors prescribe him two months of rest.
In a statement issued by the Vatican on Wednesday, April 9, the meeting was held privately, with Pope Francis offering his personal congratulations to the royal couple on their 20th wedding anniversary, which coincided with the day of the visit.
Buckingham Palace also confirmed the engagement, stating that King Charles and Queen Camilla were “delighted” that the Pope was well enough to receive them and appreciated the opportunity to extend their warm wishes to him in person.
It is important to note that King Charles, as the British monarch, holds the title of Supreme Governor of the Church of England—a church that formally separated from the Roman Catholic Church in 1534 under King Henry VIII.
This visit marks the third known meeting between Pope Francis and King Charles. They previously met in 2017 and 2019 when Charles was still Prince of Wales. Queen Elizabeth II, Charles’s mother, had also met with Pope Francis during her visit to the Vatican in 2014.
The informal but symbolic meeting is seen by observers as a significant gesture of goodwill and interfaith diplomacy between two of the world’s most influential religious institutions.
