The Vatican News confirmed that Their Majesties King Charles III of the United Kingdom and Queen Camilla have visited His Holiness Pope Francis for a private audience at the Holy Father's home in Casa Santa Marta within the Vatican City, making King Charles III the first head of state to visit the pope after his long confinement in the hospital.
The British King and Queen are in Italy for a four-day official state visit through the invitation of the Italian president. Sergio Mattarella. The first visit of His Majesty to Italy as a head of state.
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| Wedding anniversary portrait of King Charles III and Queen Camilla |
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| Pope Francis at Gemelli Hospital seen in public for the first time in March |
Pope Francis continues his recuperation from double pneumonia at his residence, Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican, after spending more than a month in the hospital in Rome. He also made an appearance lately in St. Peter's Square to greet the faithful.
Regarding the meeting of the two heads of state (Pope Francis and King Charles III), the Holy See Press Office released a statement: “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.”
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| King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrive in Rome |
The Pope’s best wishes were a reference to King Charles III's health condition, where he was hospitalized briefly in March this year due to the side effects of treatment for cancer that he has taken since last year.
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| Queen Camilla, King Charles, President Sergio Mattarella of Italy, and his daughter Laura |
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| At the state banquet in Quirinal Palace in Rome |
This private meeting between King Charles III and the Pope has been part of the programs of King Charles III's state visit to Italy announced early this year before the Pope was hospitalized in February. The palace announcement explained that the King and Queen would spend the first segment of their Italian trip with Pope Francis in the Vatican to celebrate the Jubilee Year of the Roman Catholic church.
However, things changed when Pope Francis was confined at Gemelli Hospital in Rome on February 14, 2025, due to double pneumonia. The Pope stayed more than a month in the hospital which made the meeting between the two heads of state to be cancelled, so the public was surprised to hear the meeting was still pushed through.
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| The King and Queen at the state banquet in Rome |
Pope Francis and King Charles III are not only heads of state (Pope for Vatican City and King Charles III for the United Kingdom and other 14 Realms), but they are also leaders of the church. Pope Francis is the supreme head of the Roman Catholic Church while King Charles is the supreme Governor of the Church of England, which is a protestant church.
One of the official titles of King Charles III is "Defender of the Faith", a title granted by Pope Leo X to King Henry VIII (before the establishment of the Church of England) in the middle ages, for King Henry VIII's defense on Papal Supremacy against the attack of Martin Luther.
But years later, King Henry VIII broke his ties with the Vatican when Pope Clement VII denied him the annulment he requested to his marriage with Queen Catherine. Henry VIII then established the Church of England and declared himself its Supreme Head. Nonetheless, the Vatican didn't take back the Defender of the Faith title, which continued to be carried by British monarchs until the present time.
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