This article has been updated.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla paid a private visit to Pope Francis in the Vatican on the afternoon of April 9, the 18th day of his convalescence. It was the 20th anniversary of the royal couple’s wedding.
The possibility that this could happen had been first reported in the Italian media on April 8, but there was no confirmation from any source in Rome that it would happen.
It became clear, however, that the visit had indeed occurred when my wife (Elisabetta Piqué, the Vatican correspondent for La Nación) and I saw a small motorcade exiting from the Porta Perugino, a side entrance to the Vatican near Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican guesthouse where the pope lives, at 4:46 p.m. Rome time on April 9. There was tight security in the whole area, and the cars, which did not have flags or insignia, were escorted. An informed source confirmed shortly after that King Charles had visited the pope.
In a statement released on Wednesday evening, after this article was published, the Holy See Press Office stated: “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.”
A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace said in a statement, “Their Majesties were delighted The Pope was well enough to host them for a private meeting, and to have had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person.”
The royal couple previously met Pope Francis on a visit to the Vatican on April 4, 2017. King Charles, then the Prince of Wales, also met Pope Francis on Oct. 13, 2019, at the canonization of St. John Henry Newman.
On April 8, King Charles III, during a three-day state visit to Italy, said he was praying for Pope Francis as the 88-year-old Argentine pontiff recovers from pneumonia, ANSA, the Italian news agency reported.
“I pray for the pope,” Charles III said while meeting with representatives of various faiths during the garden party with the British community at Villa Wolkonsky, the residence of the British ambassador to Italy, held in honor of the state visit to Italy of the sovereign and Queen Camilla, ANSA said.
While the pope was in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital being treated for double pneumonia, Buckingham Palace issued a press release on March 17 saying that the royal couple would make a state visit to Italy and the Holy See, from April 7 to 10, and on April 8 would meet the pope.
Pope Francis was discharged from Gemelli Hospital on March 23, and two days later, on March 25, the palace issued a second statement saying the royal visit to the Holy See had been postponed by mutual agreement as the pope recovers from illness. It added, “Their Majesties send The Pope their best wishes for his convalescence and look forward to visiting him in The Holy See, once he has recovered.”
Charles, as Prince of Wales, had previously met Pope Francis’ predecessors St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. But this was his first meeting with the pope as king.
Before visiting the pope, King Charles addressed a joint session of the Italian Houses of Parliament, the first time a British monarch has been given that honor.
Material from ANSA was used in this report.
