King Charles III and Queen Camilla will be on an official visit to Italy at the beginning of April : the fourth abroad for the British sovereign after his cancer diagnosis last year and the first trip to the Peninsula - after many in the past as Prince of Wales - in his role as head of state and successor to the throne of his mother Elizabeth II. Buckingham Palace has formally announced the news, confirming media reports.

The agenda - pending more detailed information and exact dates - currently includes a meeting with Pope Francis in the Vatican, on the occasion of the Jubilee, and stops in Rome and Ravenna.

"Their Majesties, the King and Queen, will make state visits to the Holy See and the Italian Republic at the beginning of April 2025," the statement reads. The royal palace then specifies that Charles and Camilla will be received "by His Holiness Pope Francis to celebrate the Jubilee."

As for the Italian stages, the press release is limited for now to evoking "engagements in Rome and Ravenna", highlighting the desire to "celebrate the strong bilateral relationship between Italy and the United Kingdom". Further details of the programme, concludes Buckingham Palace, will be made known "in due course".

On the sidelines of this communication, the British court recalls how the 76-year-old King Charles visited the Holy See 5 times as Prince of Wales (the first in 1985, the second for the funeral of John Paul II, then on two occasions with Camilla and the last in 2019 for the canonization of Cardinal Newman); as well as how he received all three of the last pontiffs in Great Britain. While highlighting the 17 trips he made in the past to Italy before his accession to the throne almost two and a half years ago: the first over 40 years ago; in 1984, the last in 2021, for the G20, representing the then 95-year-old Queen Elizabeth (who died on 8 September 2022).

King Charles and Queen Camilla will celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary on April 9.

(Online Union)