In a moment echoing across centuries of religious history, King Charles III and Queen Camilla made an extraordinary visit to the Vatican on October 23, 2025, meeting Pope Leo XIV for a joint prayer service that marked the first time in 500 years a British monarch and a pope have publicly worshipped together. The occasion, deeply symbolic for both the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church, unfolded against a backdrop of renewed royal scandal and shifting tides within the Anglican Communion.
Arriving in Rome on the evening of October 22, King Charles and Queen Camilla were welcomed at Ciampino Airport by British Ambassador to the Holy See Christopher Trott, Monsignor González, and Colonel Matteo Zuliani of the Italian Air Task Force, as reported by ABC News and Fox News Digital. The royal couple’s itinerary began with a visit to the British ambassador’s residence at Villa Wolkonsky, a 19th-century estate with its own storied past, before embarking on their historic engagement at the Apostolic Palace the following day.
The meeting between King Charles and Pope Leo XIV was their first since the pontiff’s election in May 2025. In the opulent halls of the Apostolic Palace, the monarch and the pope exchanged greetings before proceeding to the Sistine Chapel. There, beneath Michelangelo’s awe-inspiring "Last Judgment" fresco, the two leaders—joined by Queen Camilla and the Anglican archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell—participated in an ecumenical service designed to foster unity between their churches. Hymns resonated through the chapel, performed by the Sistine Chapel choir and visiting choirs from St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle and the Chapel Royal of St. James’s Palace, according to AP.
The significance of the moment was not lost on observers. "The meeting for prayer between King Charles, Queen Camilla and Pope Leo is highly significant as a similar ceremony has not happened for centuries. Charles is supreme Governor for the Church of England and has longed for building bridges with other faiths," royal expert Ian Pelham Turner told Fox News Digital. The service, which formed part of the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year celebrations—a once-every-quarter-century event—was seen as a step toward healing the rift that began with the English Reformation in the 16th century.
Queen Camilla, elegantly dressed in a cream coat dress adorned with delicate embroidery and later in traditional black attire with a lace mantilla for the papal audience, accompanied King Charles throughout the day. The royal couple’s schedule also included a visit to the Papal Basilica and Abbey of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, where King Charles was recognized as 'Royal Confrater' of the Abbey, a gesture symbolizing spiritual fellowship. In reciprocity, Pope Leo XIV was named "Papal Confrater of St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle," further cementing the bonds of friendship between the two churches, AP reported.
King Charles, in a deep blue suit, and Pope Leo XIV, in his traditional red papal vestments and white cassock, were seen shaking hands in the St. Damasus Courtyard, an image that quickly spread across news outlets worldwide. The trio—King Charles, Queen Camilla, and Pope Leo XIV—stood together in the San Damaso Courtyard, flanked by Swiss Guards and dignitaries, projecting a sense of unity and shared purpose. The backdrop of the Sistine Chapel, with Charles and Camilla seated on golden thrones before Michelangelo’s masterpiece, underscored the solemnity and historic resonance of the event.
Buckingham Palace described the trip as “a significant moment in relations between the Catholic Church and Church of England, of which His Majesty is Supreme Governor, recognizing the ecumenical work they have undertaken and reflecting the Jubilee year’s theme of walking together as ‘Pilgrims of Hope,’” according to People magazine and ABC News. The Jubilee Year, opened by Pope Francis on Christmas Eve 2024 before his death in April, is a period of pilgrimage, reconciliation, and renewal for Catholics worldwide.
Yet, as much as the visit was meant to symbolize hope and unity, it was overshadowed by controversy at home. Prince Andrew, the king’s brother, announced he would relinquish his royal titles amid renewed scrutiny of his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The scandal, reignited by the publication of a memoir by accuser Virginia Giuffre, has placed Buckingham Palace and the UK government under mounting pressure to strip Andrew of his remaining titles and remove him from his residence near Windsor Castle. "Regrettably, while this trip should be so momentous after 500 years of division, putting old divisions of the Reformation in the past with a wonderful new era of Christians uniting, instead, it is overshadowed by the despicable moral depravity of his brother. This is compounded by the system and those who also protected him," British royals expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital.
Royal expert Ian Pelham Turner echoed the sentiment: "Obviously, King Charles is very disappointed that the Andrew affair is totally overshadowing this major historical event, and it was thought he might face questions from the media, but I think that is very unlikely now as all the media are interested in his thoughts on Andrew." The timing of the visit, intended as a spiritual respite, was inevitably colored by the ongoing scandal, even as the king and queen maintained a composed and united front in public.
The royal couple’s Vatican visit also included a reception at the Pontifical Beda College, a seminary training priests from across the Commonwealth, and a sustainability meeting at the Sala Regia with representatives from climate organizations and the private sector, reflecting King Charles’s long-standing commitment to environmental issues. Meanwhile, Queen Camilla visited the Pauline Chapel and met Catholic Sisters from The International Union of Superiors General, highlighting the breadth of the royal engagement in Rome.
The historic gathering was further contextualized by ongoing shifts within the Anglican Communion. The recent election of Sarah Mullally as the first female archbishop of Canterbury has sparked controversy and division, particularly among conservative Anglican primates in Africa, who announced they would be forming a new structure in response to the Church of England’s LGBTQ-affirming stances and Mullally’s appointment. While Mullally did not attend the Vatican service—she has not yet been formally installed as spiritual leader of the Church of England—the Anglican archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, stood in her place, according to AP.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Catholic archbishop of Westminster, reflected on the significance of the occasion: "Pope Leo and King Charles coming together before God in prayer is an example of a genuine and profound cooperation." He noted King Charles’s acceptance of his constitutional role as supreme governor of the Church of England, as well as his commitment to protecting freedom of religion and the importance of faith in society.
For all its historic resonance, the Vatican visit was as much about looking to the future as it was about honoring the past. The image of King Charles, Queen Camilla, and Pope Leo XIV praying together—once unthinkable—offered a powerful symbol of reconciliation, unity, and hope for both churches and their followers worldwide.