Charles tells Italy’s parliament that peace is ‘never to be taken for granted’ before a surprise visit to Pope Francis.
Pope Francis met privately with King Charles III and Queen Camilla at the Vatican during the royal couple’s four-day state visit to Italy and on the occasion of their 20th wedding anniversary, the Vatican has announced.
The British royals’ visit on Wednesday was the pope’s first known meeting since his return to the Vatican after five weeks in hospital for life-threatening double pneumonia.
Francis had planned to have an audience with Charles, but the official state visit to the Vatican was postponed due to the pope’s health.
The pope issued a new invitation for a private audience, but it was subject to his health and only confirmed on Wednesday morning. The mid-afternoon visit lasted about 20 minutes and included a private exchange of gifts.
The Vatican statement said the pope wished Charles and Camilla a happy anniversary, and the king and queen in return wished the pope a speedy recovery.
Buckingham Palace said “their majesties were delighted the pope was well enough to host them, and to have had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person’”.
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The pope has been convalescing at the Vatican since March 23 and made an appearance to the faithful in St Peter’s Square on Sunday.
He was pushed in a wheelchair, wearing nasal tubes for supplemental oxygen, and wished the crowd a good Sunday from the front of the altar before being greeted by participants in the Mass, some of whom leaned to kiss his hands.
Charles, meanwhile, was on his first trip abroad this year after being taken to hospital over side effects related to his ongoing cancer treatment.
Earlier on Wednesday, Charles became the first British monarch and fourth foreign leader to address a joint session of the Italian parliament. In his speech, he stressed the need for close ties between Italy and the United Kingdom, calling for unity in defence of common values at a time of war in Europe.
“Our countries have both stood by Ukraine in her hour of need and welcomed many thousands of Ukrainians requiring shelter,” he said, referring to the Russia-Ukraine war and warning that images of wars were now reverberating again across the continent.
“Our younger generations can see in the news every day on their smartphones and tablets that peace is never to be taken for granted.”
Charles added that Italian and British armed forces “stand side by side” as part of the NATO alliance, noting the two countries’ joint plans to develop with Japan a new fighter jet.
“It will generate thousands of jobs in our countries and speaks volumes about the trust we place in each other,” he said.
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Charles also spoke passionately in his address about threats facing the planet, recalling another speech he gave in Italy 16 years ago and how the “warnings” he made at the time about the urgency of the climate challenge were “depressingly being borne out by events”.
Earlier on Wednesday, Charles had a short private meeting with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the leader of Italy’s hard-right government, at the historic Villa Doria Pamphili.
The king was then whisked in his Bentley to Rome’s working-class neighbourhood of Testaccio, where its converted slaughterhouses now hold cultural events, to meet with drama students who performed a portion of Shakespeare’s Othello in Italian.
A few dozen curious residents milled about outside, but most appeared nonplussed, such as Carlotta, a 70-year-old woman who declined to give her last name.
“I don’t give a damn about the king but they’ve spent three days cleaning the neighbourhood, scrubbing the pavements, clearing up dog poo, so he can come every week if he likes,” she told the AFP news agency.
Another woman, 66-year-old Ninetta, quipped: “Rome has seen emperors, how impressive is a king? I couldn’t care less.”