King Charles and Pope Leo pray together inside Sistine Chapel during historic Vatican state visit: Live updates

The King and Queen have arrived at the Sistine Chapel for a service.

There the royals will take part in an historic public prayer with Pope Leo.

King Charles told Pope Leo that cameras recording their historic first meeting in the Vatican were a ‘constant hazard’, it has emerged.

In footage released by Vatican Media, the King and Queen could be seen getting out of their State Bentley with Camilla saying: ‘Lovely to be here.’

After walking through the Apostolic Palace they were greeted by the Pope who said:  ‘Good morning, welcome.’

‘Your holiness it’s such a pleasure to meet you if I may say so,’ the King replied.

‘You are so kind to see us.’

Posing for official photographs he also quipped:  ‘Constant hazard, the cameras.’

‘You get used to it,’ Pope Leo smiled.

They sat down to chat with the King telling his host: ‘I am so thrilled.’

Here’s another picture of the first meeting between King Charles and Pope Leo in the Vatican.

Later the two men will pray together inside the Sistine Chapel – the first time in 500 years a British monarch and the head of the Catholic Church have done so.

After being ushered inside the couple were introduced to Pope Leo XIV in the palace library, the traditional place for such meetings.

There was also an exchange of gifts, with His Majesty presenting the Catholic leader with a large silver photograph, and Icon of St Edward the Confessor.

The Pope presented His Majesty with a scale version of the mosaic of ‘Christ Pantocrator’, in the Norman Cathedral of Cefalu, in Sicily. The mosaic was made in the Vatican.

The King also met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s Cardinal Secretary of State, who attended his coronation in May 2023.

The Cardinal was the first papal representative to attend the Coronation of a British monarch for almost 500 years.

This is the first picture of King Charles and Pope Leo as the monarch and the head of the Catholic Church meet for the first time.

As we await more developments from Rome, let’s take a look at what the UK Government has said about the King’s visit to the Vatican.

A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said:

At a time of global instability and conflict, the UK’s relationship with the Holy See is more important than ever – and this historic State Visit will be a key moment to strengthen this relationship. The Holy See has been a key actor on the international stage, promoting peace, effective measures to combat climate change and promote human dignity.

The Catholic Church is the largest denomination of the world’s largest religion; it is the world’s largest non-state education provider, educating 68 million students worldwide, and delivers a quarter of the world’s healthcare.

His Majesty’s visit will therefore strengthen the UK’s relationship with this crucial and influential partner, helping to deliver on the Government’s priorities – from promoting peace and security around the world to working with our international partners to tackle climate change.

The King’s visit comes forty years after Queen Elizabeth banned him from taking part in a papal Mass when he visited Vatican City with former wife Diana, Princess of Wales in 1985.

Charles, 76, who has been a life-long advocate for better inter-Faith dialogue and relations, had been keen to join Pope John Paul II in prayer.

The then Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie, wrote to the Vatican to say that the Prince and Princess of Wales would like to attend a service.

While the Pope’s office initially agreed to make the arrangements, Buckingham Palace later contacted them overruling the decision, saying a Papal audience would be sufficient during their 17-day tour of Italy.

Britain and the Vatican had only established full diplomatic relations three years earlier after a rift of more than four and a half centuries following Henry VIII’s decision to break with the Roman Catholic Church in the 1530s when it refused to allow him to divorce Katharine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn.

The day’s ceremonial events began with a Guard of Honour provided by the iconic Swiss Guard and the playing of both the British and Vatican City national anthems.

Their Majesties were also met by a group of ‘Papal Gentlemen’ and the ‘Gentlemen of the Pope’, Prince of Windisch-Gaetz, Mariano Hugo, before being guided inside.

The Swiss Guards are one of the oldest and most prestigious European military forces, drawn exclusively from Roman Catholic Swiss citizens who have completed military training.

They fulfill ceremonial functions and form the Pope’s bodyguard.

King Charles will today become the first British monarch in 500 years to pray in public with a pope as he makes an historic state visit to The Holy See.

His Majesty, accompanied by his wife, Queen Camilla, arrived at the ceremonial entrance to the Apostolic Palace in the San Damascus Courtyard, having been driven through iconic St Peter’s Square.

The couple were greeted by the Regent of the Prefecture of the Papal Household, Reverend Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza.

As per tradition Pope Leo was waiting inside the palace to greet his visitors.

Here’s the latest scenes from the Vatican where the King and Queen will arrive imminently.

Catholic pilgrims holding a cross have come to watch the royals arrival while a marching band has performed as part of a welcoming ceremony.

The Vatican has literally rolled out the red carpet ahead of the arrival of King Charles and Queen Camilla.

The couple are due to arrive shortly at the Apostolic Palace in the San Damascus Courtyard before greeting Pope Leo.

King Charles’ state visit to the Holy See is one laden with symbolism and comes during the Catholic Church’s Jubilee year

Traditionally marked every 25 years, the Jubilee is a special time for the Catholic Church which is likely to result in more than 30 million pilgrims heading to Rome this year.

On Christmas Eve last year, Pope Francis launched jubilee year by opening the usually bricked-up Holy Door at St Peter’s Basilica.

The ceremony was meant to represent the forthcoming ‘year of hope’ with Catholics encourages to pass through the door and seek forgiveness of their sins.

King Charles and Queen Camilla have a private meeting with Pope Francis in the Vatican City on April 9 this year

The King and Queen were due to make the state visit to the Holy See in April but the health problems of Pope Francis meant the trip was postponed, although the couple did privately meet the pontiff, who died later that month.

Paying tribute to him following his death, Charles said Francis, who was the first Latin American pope, would be ‘remembered for his compassion’ and had ‘profoundly touched the lives of so many’.

Today marks his first visit with his successor Pope Leo who was elected in May.

Former Conservative cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg said King Charles’s state visit to the Vatican marked a ‘wonderful symbolic gesture of Christian unity’.

Mr Rees-Mogg made the remarks last night on his GB News show.

In recognition of his lifetime of campaigning on issues of inter-faith harmony, Pope Leo will make Charles a ‘Royal Confrater’ of the Papal Basilica and Abbey of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls.

The gift of ‘confraternity’ is a recognition of spiritual fellowship – ‘frater’ meaning brother in Latin.

In further celebration of this new bond, a special seat has been created for His Majesty, which will remain in the Basilica as a perpetual mark of mutual respect between Pope Leo and The King as Heads of State.

The special chair is decorated with His Majesty’s Coat of Arms and will be used by the King during the service, after which it will remain in the apse of the Basilica for future use by the monarch and his heirs and successors.

During an ecumenical service in the famous Sistine Chapel, the King, Supreme Governor of the Church of England, will become the first British monarch to pray at a public service with the Pope, head of the Catholic Church, since the Reformation.

Nearly 500 years ago, in 1534, King Henry VIII led the country’s breakaway from Rome as he declared himself the head of the Church of England and severed ties with the Roman Catholic Church over its refusal to grant him an annulment to his marriage of Catherine of Aragon – the first of his six wives.

Today’s meeting with Pope Leo has enormous personal significance for King Charles, both as Supreme Governor of the Church of England and someone who has devoted his life to promoting interfaith harmony.

For the government, the State Visit to The Holy See is also seen as preaching a particularly important message of religious tolerance in an increasingly fractured world.

It’s also important to remember that the 76-year-old monarch is also still undergoing regular cancer treatment – something many easily forget given how packed his public diary is.

As a result, there is no doubt that Buckingham Palace are determinedly focusing on official duties and putting the ever-growing furore over his brother, Prince Andrew, to one side.

However today’s visit also comes at a difficult time for the monarch, who has faced weeks of uncomfortable headlines over the behaviour of his brother, Prince Andrew, his links to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, allegations of abuse against Virgina Giuffre, and outrage over his living arrangements.

While the King moved decisively on Friday and forced Andrew to voluntarily stand down from using his titles, including that of the the Duke of York, his attempts to seize the narrative have not halted the growing public furore.

There are increasing cross-party calls for an official investigation into the prince’s links with Epstein and his living arrangements at 30-room Royal Lodge, as well as demands that Parliament formally strip him of his titles and force him to become a private citizen.

As he becomes the first British monarch in almost half a century to pray with the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in the Sistine Chapel later this morning, Charles may quietly offer a silent plea of his own for some divine intervention.

King Charles landed in Rome last night determined to focus on official duties and put the growing furore over his brother Prince Andrew to one side.

The monarch, 76, who despite his ongoing cancer treatement has a packed week of public engagements, is undertaking an historic meeting with Pope Leo this morning along with his wife, Queen Camilla.

As they touched down in Rome she sported a feather print silk dress by Fiona Clare and a brown cashmere trench coat by Anne Valentine. ‘It’s a great pleasure to be here,’ she said.

The King meanwhile told Monsignor Javier Domingo Fernández González, who greeted him on the Pope’s behalf: ‘It’s wonderful to be able to come back to Rome.’

Hello and welcome to the Daily Mail’s live coverage as King Charles and Queen Camilla begin their state visit to the Vatican by meeting Pope Leo XIV for the first time since he was elected to office.

Charles and Camilla, who arrived in Rome on Wednesday evening, will be greeted by Pope Leo in his official residence, the Apostolic Palace ahead of a historic day of events.

The state visit to the Holy See, the government of the Roman Catholic Church in the Vatican, is understood to be deeply significant for the King personally and will celebrate the Papal Jubilee held every 25 years.

Stick with us for live updates throughout the day with the latest developments from the Vatican.