Third day in Italy for King Charles III and Camilla.
The sovereign of the United Kingdom met this morning in Rome, at Villa Pamphilj, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni , then gave the long-awaited speech to the joint chambers, the first by a British sovereign.
A speech made at the opening and in four other passages in Italian : "I hope I don't ruin Dante's language", joked the sovereign . "A third of Shakespeare's works were set here in Italy", recalled Charles. "We have benefited enormously from your influence " in various sectors, he then added, not hiding his love and knowledge of our country. "I only hope that you will forgive us if we occasionally corrupt your wonderful cuisine - he then joked - We are two peoples and two nations whose histories are intertwined with each other and with those of the European continent. We are both European countries after all".
There was no shortage of passages on the war in Ukraine and environmentalism, a theme dear to the English sovereign. And the references to young people and future generations, and the homage to the heroes of the Resistance and to Falcone. With a closing quote from Alighieri: "Whatever the challenges and uncertainties we face as nations, on our continent and beyond, we can overcome them together." We will do it together. And when we have done so, we could say with Dante: "And so we came out to see the stars again."
Between the two engagements, Carlo went to the former Mattatoio di Testaccio, where he attended a short performance of Shakespeare and together with the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella listened to the results of the round table 'Clean Energy for Growth'. While Queen Consort Camilla visited a Roman school. After the meeting at the Chamber, an ice cream in the streets of Rome and, to close the day, the gala dinner at the Quirinale, the last institutional engagement.
