The King and Queen are still planning to meet Pope Francis in the Vatican when they travel to Italy next month despite the pontiff’s ongoing illness.
On the historic visit, the King, as the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, will be the first British Monarch to visit the Papal Basicila of Saint Paul since the Reformation.
Before Henry VIII’s history-making break with the Catholic Church in 1534, English Kings had a link to ’St Paul Outside The Walls’, but no King or Queen has been there in the 500 years since.
The Pope remains in hospital, from where the Vatican has recently released the first photograph of him since he was admitted with multiple health conditions.
Palace staff organising King Charles and Queen Camilla’s State Visits to Italy and the Holy See are continuing with their existing travel plans “for now” but are ready to change them at a moment’s notice should the Pope be unable to see them.
The King sent a private message to Pope Francis soon after he became ill and senior royal aides say they have shared “our hopes and prayers that Pope Francis’ health will enable the visit to go ahead” as scheduled when the King and Queen arrive in Italy.
The visit to the Vatican is part of the royal tour to Rome and Ravenna which begins on 7 April.
The Holy See visit by the royals will be historic as it falls in the year of the Papal Jubilee, a special year for Catholics.
King Charles, who has worked for decades on inter-faith relations, wants to affirm the closeness of the Church of England, of which he is the Head, and the Roman Catholic Church, of which Pope Francis is the Head.
The King will therefore be delighted that he will be the first British Monarch in nearly 500 years to step into St Paul’s Outside the Walls.
Of the four major basilicas of Rome, St Paul’s is the second largest (after Saint Peter’s) and the UNESCO World Heritage Site is a revered place of pilgrimage which honours the Apostle Paul.
That makes it a symbol of Christian unity and reconciliation and also a place of prayer and reflection for Christians of all denominations.
The visit by King Charles and Queen Camilla will mark an important coming-together of two churches: the Roman Catholic and the Church of England.
It might have King Henry VIII turning in his grave given the once devout Catholic king led his country to the 1534 Reformation and made England a Protestant country to divorce his first wife Catherine of Aragon.
The current King, still a protestant of course, will attend an ecumenical service – for Christians of all churches – in the Sistine Chapel in the Apostolic Palace – the Pope’s official residence in Vatican City.
Should the Pope remain in hospital or should his condition take a turn for the worse, those organising the royal visit in Rome and in London, say they can switch to a Plan B and make alternative arrangements.
The second State to be visited after the Holy See is Italy itself.
The King and Queen will meet the Italian President, Sergio Mattarelle and the country’s populist, right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Charles will notch up another historic moment when he becomes the first British monarch to address a joint session of the Italian Parliament.
As he did on his State Visits to Germany and France, he is likely to attempt to deliver big chunks of his parliamentary address in the language of his hosts.
And there will be a sombre moment in Ravenna on Italy’s east coast as the King and Queen mark the 80th anniversary – to the day – of the province’s liberation from Nazi rule.
It was on 10 April 1945 that the region was freed was Nazi occupation by British and Canadian forces as the end World War Two in Europe drew close.
This will be the sixth and seventh State Visits in the reign of Charles III following his tours to Germany, France, Kenya, Australia and Samoa.
Queen Elizabeth visited Italy for the Catholic Church’s last Jubilee, or Holy Year, in 2000.
Follow STV News on WhatsApp
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
