Overview
- The palace confirmed a two-day state visit to the Holy See on October 22–23, which will be the couple’s first meeting with Pope Leo XIV since his election in May.
- An ecumenical service in the Sistine Chapel will feature joint prayer and music by choirs from the Chapel Royal, St George’s Chapel, and the Sistine Chapel, reflecting a shared commitment to environmental stewardship.
- Pope Leo will confer on the King the title of Royal Confrater at St Paul’s Outside the Walls, where a specially crafted seat bearing his coat of arms will remain permanently in the basilica.
- The itinerary includes an audience in the Apostolic Palace, a sustainability meeting themed Care for Creation, participation in Jubilee-year observances, and engagements at the Pontifical Beda College and with Catholic sisters’ leaders.
- The visit follows the postponement of an April program during Pope Francis’s final illness, and comes as the King continues treatment for an undisclosed cancer while maintaining official duties.