King Charles and Queen Camilla spent time with Pope Francis on their 20th wedding anniversary. His Holiness privately met with Their Majesties at Casa Santa Marta in Vatican City on Wednesday. A photo of the meeting, showing Camilla shaking hands with the pontiff, was released early Thursday morning.
"Che occasione speciale! A special moment for Their Majesties as they privately met His Holiness Pope Francis at the Vatican yesterday," the royal family's social media accounts wrote alongside the picture. "The King and Queen were deeply touched by The Pope’s kind remarks about their 20th wedding anniversary and honoured to be able to share their best wishes to him in person."
In a statement on Wednesday, via Vatican News, the Holy See Press Office stated: “Pope Francis met privately with Their Majesties, King Charles and Queen Camilla, this afternoon. In the course of the meeting, the Pope expressed his best wishes to Their Majesties on the occasion of their wedding anniversary and reciprocated His Majesty’s wishes for a speedy recovery of his health.”
The King and Queen were originally set to pay a state visit to the Holy See, along with Italy, this month, which would have included an audience with the pope. However, it was announced last month that Their Majesties' visit to the Holy See had been postponed "by mutual agreement, as medical advice" suggested that Pope Francis "would benefit from an extended period of rest and recuperation." Buckingham Palace said at the time, "Their Majesties send The Pope their best wishes for his convalescence and look forward to visiting him in The Holy See, once he has recovered."
Pope Francis, 88, was released from Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on March 23, over a month after he was admitted to the hospital for a respiratory infection and bilateral pneumonia.
Charles and Camilla's state visit to Italy kicked off on April 7. The third day of the couple' trip marked their 20th wedding anniversary. The King and Queen were married in a civil ceremony at the Guildhall, Windsor in 2005. One of Her Majesty's outfits on their milestone anniversary on Wednesday was her original Guildhall wedding outfit in ivory silk by Anna Valentine, which has been repurposed by Anna with additional embroidery by King's Foundation artisan Beth Somerville.
The royal family's official social media accounts commemorated the couple's 20th anniversary with a video featuring photos of Charles and Camilla from over the years, set to James Taylor's "How Sweet It Is." The post was simply captioned, "20 Happy Years! 🤍."