State Visits to the Holy See and the Republic of Italy announced

Their Majesties’ programmes are designed to celebrate the U.K.’s warm bilateral relationship with each country. The Visit to the Holy See will be an historic visit in the year of the Papal Jubilee, and will mark a significant step forward in relations between the Catholic Church and Church of England with a special service in the Sistine Chapel, joining hands in a celebration of ecumenism, and of the work The King and The Pope have done over many years on climate and Nature. The Visit to Italy will underscore the depth and breadth of the bilateral relationship: our defence relationship including in the current international context; our shared values, history and culture; our work together on the clean energy transition; and the links between our peoples and communities.

Programme Highlights include:

The Holy See

The Jubilee Year
On Tuesday 8th April, Their Majesties will visit the Holy See to join Pope Francis in celebrating the 2025 Jubilee. Held traditionally once every 25 years, the Jubilee is a special year for the Catholic Church; a year of reconciliation, prayer and walking together as ‘Pilgrims of Hope’, which is the Jubilee’s theme.

Nature and Sustainability
The King and Queen will have an audience with Pope Francis. Their Majesties will also attend a Service in the Sistine Chapel, focused on the theme of ‘care for creation’, reflecting Pope Francis’ and His Majesty’s long-standing commitment to Nature.

Ecumenical Relationships
In an historic first, His Majesty, Supreme Governor of the Church of England, will also visit the Papal Basilica of ‘St. Paul’s Outside the Walls’, with which English Kings had a particular link until the Reformation. ‘St Paul’s Outside the Walls’ is recognised as the Papal Basilica where reconciliation, ecumenism and relationships across the Christian faith are celebrated. Members of the Choir of His Majesty’s Chapel Royal and the Choir of St.

George’s Chapel, Windsor, will perform in both the Sistine Chapel and at ‘St Paul’s Outside the Walls’. In the Sistine Chapel, they will be accompanied by the Sistine Chapel Choir.

The King will also attend a reception with Seminarians from across the Commonwealth and the British Vatican community. Meanwhile, Her Majesty will meet Catholic Sisters from The International Union of Superiors General, who are working around the world at grassroots level to promote female empowerment, through girls’ education programmes, improved access to healthcare, climate action and the prevention of sexual violence and human trafficking.

Italy

The Bilateral Relationship
The strong bilateral relationship between the U.K. and Italy will be celebrated with a series of ceremonial engagements during Their Majesties’ State Visit. In Rome, on April 9th, as well as His Majesty’s audiences with President Mattarella and Prime Minister Meloni, The King and Queen will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The King will be the first British Monarch to address a joint session of the Italian Parliament. Their Majesties will also attend a State Banquet at the Palazzo Quirinale, hosted by The President.

Defence
As NATO Allies, the U.K. and Italy share common defence interests, collaborating on initiatives such as the Global Combat Air Programme. This relationship will be marked during the visit by a joint flypast over Rome by the Italian Air Force aerobatic team, ‘Frecce Tricolori’ and by the Royal Air Force acrobatic team, the Red Arrows.

In Ravenna, Their Majesties will attend a reception in the Town Hall, marking the 80th anniversary of the province’s liberation from Nazi occupation by Allied Forces, which took place on 10th April 1945 (80 years to the day of Their Majesties’ visit).

Sustainability
The two countries’ commitment to sustainability will be also reflected in Their Majesties’ engagements. In Rome, the Foreign Secretary will chair a roundtable on Clean Energy Supply Chains, with business leaders and others involved in the sector, and The King will then join to hear a report of the outcomes. Meanwhile, at a regional festival in Ravenna (10th April), Their Majesties will celebrate traditional Emilia-Romagna cuisine, Slow Food, and the region’s excellent produce. As part of this engagement, The King will meet local farmers, whose land and crops have been severely affected by devastating floods which have hit the Ravenna region in recent years.

Literature, Culture, Community and Heritage
Their Majesties’ visit will also provide an opportunity to highlight the common cultural heritage shared by Italians and the British, whether that be a love of great Literature, or a desire to preserve Ancient Roman and Byzantine architecture and heritage crafts. It will celebrate the many ways in which culture brings the people of the UK and Italy together, creating a common bond.

In Rome, Her Majesty will meet school children who have been taking part in a competition to mark the 80th Anniversary of the British Council, describing or imagining a day in the life of their favourite literary characters.

In Ravenna, The King and Queen will view Dante’s tomb and Her Majesty will tour the Byron museum, uncovering the secrets of the great Romantic poet’s life in Italy, and attending a reception for local book clubs, libraries, book shops and representatives from Her Majesty’s charity “The Queen’s Reading Room”. His Majesty will visit the Basilica di San Vitale and the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, viewing their impressive mosaics from the 5th and 6th centuries and meeting artisans who are keeping this ancient art form alive.

Background

Previous Royal visits to the Holy See and the Italian Republic:
His Majesty The King, as Prince of Wales, has visited the Holy See on five occasions: April 1985, April 2005 for the funeral of Pope John Paul II, April 2009, April 2017 and October 2019 for the Canonisation of Cardinal John Henry Newman. Her Majesty The Queen, as Duchess of Cornwall, joined His Majesty for the visits in April 2009 and April 2017.

As Prince of Wales, His Majesty was received in Audience by Pope Benedict XVI during the 2009 visit and Pope Francis during his visits in 2017 and 2019. In 1982, His Majesty also met Pope John Paul II in Canterbury during the first ever visit of a Pope on British soil.

The King has officially visited the Republic of Italy seventeen times, with his first visit in 1984 and most recent in October 2021 for the G20 Summit in Rome. The Queen joined His Majesty on two of these visits, in 2009 and 2017.

Queen Elizabeth II visited the Holy See and the Republic of Italy four times, each time accompanied by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. This included in October 2000 for the Great Jubilee of Year 2000.