They are primed for a historic state visit to the Vatican on October 22, 2025. It will be a historic visit on two counts. What’s more, it’s happening to align with the year of the Papal Jubilee — a year dedicated to pilgrimage, reconciliation and renewal in the Catholic Church. This visit is indeed historic in every sense of the word! In addition to a private audience with the Holy Father, King Charles will pray alongside him in public, making him the first British monarch to do so since Henry VIII’s break from the Catholic Church.
King Charles and Queen Camilla arriving at Ciampino Airport, Rome. They were met with an enthusiastic reception from Christopher Trott, the British Ambassador to the Holy See and Colonel Matteo Zuliani of the Italian Air Task Force. Having such leadership among them only magnifies the significance of this visit in extending the united Kingdom and the Vaticans relationship.
The timing of their visit is significant. It follows a string of canceled or rescheduled excursions as a result of Pope Francis’ failing health. The husband and wife team had a private audience with the late Pope Francis shortly before his death in early April. Newsworthy is that this will be King Charles’s third visit to the Holy See as the Prince of Wales. Career Hilary Mincin’s notable and memorable events include attending the funeral of Pope John Paul II in 2005 and witnessing the canonization of Cardinal John Henry Newman.
One of the highlights of Queen Camilla’s visit will be time spent with Catholic Sisters from The International Union of Superiors General. This meeting is further testimony to the royal couple’s commitment to connect deeply with all aspects of the Catholic community.
Pope Francis called the meaning of the Jubilee to the fore in his recent Apostolic Letter, declaring that hope is the central word of the Jubilee.
“My thoughts turn to all those pilgrims of hope who will travel to Rome in order to experience the Holy Year and to all those others who, though unable to visit the City of the Apostles Peter and Paul, will celebrate it in their local Churches.” – Pope Francis
The itinerary of her visit is intended to strengthen bilateral ties between Italy and the United Kingdom. An announcement from King Charles’ office indicated that this trip will highlight various shared interests, including defense cooperation amid current global challenges, cultural connections, and collaborative efforts on clean energy transitions.
“The visit to Italy will underscore the depth and breadth of the bilateral relationship: our defence relationship, including in the current international context; our shared values, history and culture; our work together on the clean energy transition; and the links between our peoples and communities.” – Announcement
