A brief but deeply symbolic visit: King Charles III and Queen Camilla are in the Vatican today for a historic state visit that marks a new chapter in relations between the Catholic Church and the Church of England. For the first time since the Reformation, a British monarch is praying publicly alongside a Pope.
The royal motorcade arrived this morning at the Cortile di San Damaso, where the couple was greeted with full honors by the Pontifical Swiss Guard. At 11 a.m., Pope Leo XIV received the King and Queen for a private audience in the Apostolic Palace, followed by a meeting between the monarch and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, while the Queen visited the Pauline Chapel.
This afternoon, an ecumenical prayer for the care of creation will take place in the Sistine Chapel, featuring readings from St. Ambrose and Blessed John Henry Newman, and music performed jointly by the Vatican Choir and the Choir of St. George’s Chapel, Windsor. The moment, rich in symbolism, represents a gesture of reconciliation after more than five centuries of division between the two Churches.
Later in the day, King Charles will bestow upon the Pontiff the insignia of Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, while receiving in return the Order of Pius IX. The visit will continue at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, where the King will be named “Royal Confrater” — a title that seals a renewed spiritual fraternity between Rome and the British Crown.
Queen Camilla, wearing a black silk dress by Fiona Clare and a lace veil designed by Philip Treacy, observed Vatican protocol with refined elegance, completing the look with a brooch once owned by Queen Elizabeth II.
The day will conclude with a meeting on environmental sustainability and a reception at the Beda College — an event that, under the banner of dialogue and care for creation, opens a new era in relations between London and the Holy See.