King Charles and Queen Camilla popped up in Rome on Thursday to pay a landmark state visit to the Vatican, set to mark the first time a British monarch prayed with a pope since the split between the Church of England and the Catholic Church nearly 500 years ago. The visit, designed to underscore unity between the two Christian denominations, is being described by the palace as a "bulwark against those promoting conflict, division, and tyranny," per the BBC.
Charles met with Pope Leo on Thursday morning and then took part in a joint service in the Sistine Chapel, where Catholic and Anglican clergy—as well as choirs from the Vatican and the UK's royal household—were to come together under Michelangelo's iconic ceiling, according to the BBC. Charles and Camilla sat in golden thrones for the service, reports the AP. The symbolic display of togetherness is seen as a deeply personal moment for Charles, who has long advocated for interfaith dialogue.
The visit also was set to include a service at St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls, a church with historic ties to the English monarchy, where Charles will be named a "royal confrater" in the abbey's confraternity. This full state visit by the royals had originally been scheduled for April but was canceled due to Pope Francis' ill health, per the Washington Post; Charles and Camilla instead met privately with the ailing pontiff, who died just days later.
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The trip comes as the royal family grapples with continued fallout from the Prince Andrew scandal. The palace reportedly timed Andrew's recent title removal to prevent negative headlines from overshadowing this historic occasion, but fresh allegations have kept the story in the spotlight, per the BBC.
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