King Charles and Queen Camilla met Pope Leo XIV during their historic state visit to the Vatican.
During their visit to the Holy See to celebrate the 2025 Papal Jubilee, they met the new pope, American-born Leo, at the Apostolic Palace.
They were welcomed with a ceremonial Guard of Honour provided by the Swiss Guard and the playing of both national anthems.
Their meeting with His Holiness took place in the Pope’s Library.
As is typical in a state visit, there was an exchange of gifts. King Charles presented the Pope with a large silver photograph and an Icon of St Edward the Confessor. Pope Leo then gave the King a scale version of the mosaic, made in the Vatican, of ‘Christ Pantocrator,’ in the Norman Cathedral of Cefalù in Sicily.
This was King Charles’s first meeting with Pope Leo, who was elected as the new head of the Roman Catholic Church after the death of Pope Francis in April 2025.
Later in the morning, Their Majesties joined the Holy Father for a special ecumenical service in the Sistine Chapel, where the King prayed with the Pope – a symbol of the “joining of hands” of the Catholic Church and the Church of England.
This was the first time a British monarch publicly prayed with the head of the Catholic Church since the Reformation.
King Charles has agreed to Pope Leo’s suggestion that he become a ‘Royal Confrater’ of the Abbey of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls. A special seat has been created for the King, which will remain in the Abbey as a perpetual mark of mutual respect between Pope Leo and King Charles as Heads of State.
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