King Charles prays with Pope Leo in historic visit to the Vatican World Oct 23, 2025 2:32 PM EDT
VATICAN CITY (AP) — King Charles III and Queen Camilla prayed Thursday with Pope Leo XIV in an historic visit to the Vatican to forge closer relations between the Church of England and the Catholic Church, a welcome spiritual respite for the royals from the turmoil at home over sexual misconduct allegations against Prince Andrew.
Charles, who is the titular head of the Church of England, and Camilla sat in golden thrones on the raised altar of the Sistine Chapel, in front of Michelangelo’s “Last Judgment,” while Leo and the Anglican archbishop of York presided over an ecumenical service.
The event marked the first time since the Reformation that the heads of the two Christian churches, div