King Charles, Queen Camilla meet Pope Leo XIV during historic Vatican visit
King Charles III and Queen Camilla met with Pope Leo XIV on Thursday.
The trio met during an audience at the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City. They then went to the Sistine Chapel where, for the first time in 500 years, a King of England and a pope prayed together.
It marks the first time a British monarch has engaged in a public act of worship with the pope since the Church of England broke away from the Catholic Church in the 16th century during the reign of Henry VIII.
This historic state visit is King Charles III and Queen Camilla's first meeting with Pope Leo XIV since he was elected in May 2025.
Upon their arrival at Ciampino Airport in Rome, Italy, King Charles and Queen Camilla were welcomed by Christopher Trott, the British Ambassador to the Holy See, and Colonel Matteo Zuliani of the Italian Air Task Force.
King Charles and Queen Camilla's visit included a visit to the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls for an ecumenical service, during which King Charles was given the title of Royal Confrater of the Abbey of Saint Paul's as recognition of spiritual fellowship. Today's visit also included King Charles attending a reception at the Pontifical Beda College, a seminary that trains priests from across the Commonwealth.
Earlier, King Charles also attended a sustainability meeting at the Sala Regia in the Vatican with representatives from climate organizations and private sector leaders who have been working with Sustainable Markets Initiative, which he founded as Prince of Wales.
Meanwhile, Queen Camilla visited the Pauline Chapel, where cardinals assemble before entering a conclave to elect a new pope and viewed Michelangelo's last two frescoes. Later, she will meet Catholic Sisters from The International Union of Superiors General.
The king and queen's visit coincides with this year's jubilee, which is a time of pilgrimage, reconciliation and renewal in the Catholic Church.
Prior to his death in April, Pope Francis opened the Jubilee Year on Christmas Eve in December 2024, knocking on the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican from his wheelchair.
King Charles and Queen Camilla originally had plans to make a state visit to the Vatican earlier this year when they made a state visit to Italy. However, due to Pope Francis' declining health, instead had a private meeting with the late pope.
In announcing this state visit, Buckingham Palace released a statement saying, "During Their Majesties’ State Visit, The King and Queen will join His Holiness Pope Leo XIV in celebrating the 2025 Jubilee Year. Traditionally marked every 25 years, a Papal Jubilee is a special time for the Catholic Church. The visit will also celebrate the ecumenical work by the Church of England and the Catholic Church, reflecting the Jubilee year’s theme of walking together as ‘Pilgrims of Hope’."
King Charles previously visited the Holy See a few times prior to his visit this week. As the Prince of Wales, he attended the funeral of Pope John Paul II in 2005 and also the canonization of Cardinal John Henry Newman, and visited the Vatican in 2009 and in 2017.
