King Charles lands in Rome for historic visit to meet Pope Leo

King Charles and Queen Camilla have arrived in Rome at the start of a historic state visit to the Vatican, where they will meet Pope Leo in a symbolic display of unity between the Church of England and the Catholic Church.

A stronger relationship between the two Christian denominations is a “bulwark against those promoting conflict, division and tyranny,” said a statement from the King’s spokesman.

The King, who landed at Ciampino airport on Wednesday evening, will become the first British monarch to pray with a pope since the Reformation in the 16th Century.

But the visit comes against the backdrop of the scandal surrounding Prince Andrew.

When it was announced last Friday that Prince Andrew would lose his titles, and would no longer be called the Duke of York, an important reason was the Palace’s desire to prevent questions about Andrew drowning out other royal events.

The Vatican trip in particular had been of concern to the Palace, which wanted to end the constant drip-drip of negative headlines about Prince Andrew that threatened to overshadow the work of the King and other working royals.

But instead there has been a barrage of further revelations about Andrew and his relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Pressure further intensified on Andrew with the publication of Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir, in which she alleges she was forced to have sex with the royal at Ghislaine Maxwell’s house when she was 17. Andrew has always denied any wrongdoing.

The Palace will want to shift the focus to this visit which it hails as a “landmark” moment, and the King’s spokesman’s statement makes no reference to any family difficulties, but instead addresses these “times of such global challenge”.

“It has seldom been more important for Christian communities around the world to unite in faith and in fellowship with our partners.

“This provides a bulwark against those promoting conflict, division and tyranny, and supports our work together in harmony to protect nature, God’s creation,” said the King’s spokesman.

As supreme governor of the Church of England, and a longstanding campaigner for building bridges between faiths, this is a visit that’s of great personal importance to the King.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, who will be at the Vatican for the state visit, said the King and the Pope had different approaches but would “find common ground”.

He said Pope Leo was “very attentive, he absorbs exactly what people are saying and he can be very direct in expressing his own mind. King Charles is probably a little more subtle in the way he talks”, the Cardinal told the BBC.

And he offered a spiritual thought when asked about current problems facing the Royal Family.

“I have no doubts at all that family difficulties will be in the heart of both the Pope and the King as they place themselves before God and ask for grace and strength to live through all the difficulties that we all have in life,” said Cardinal Nichols.

On Thursday morning the King will meet Pope Leo at the Vatican, before taking part in a service together in the Sistine Chapel that will emphasise the warm relations between the churches.

Under the famous ceiling painted by Michelangelo, there will be a service bringing together Catholic and Anglican clergy and royal and Vatican choirs.

The King and Pope Leo will pray together, the first time this will have happened since the Church of England split from the Catholic Church in the 16th Century.

There’s also another unusual moment, as prayer is considered a personal and private act, and by convention monarchs are not usually filmed when they’re deep in their own prayers – but this will be put aside for this public display of togetherness.

In another symbol of reconciliation, the King will attend a service at a church with pre-Reformation connections, St Paul’s Outside the Walls.

This church and abbey, which contains the tomb of St Paul, was traditionally associated with the English monarchy, going back to medieval and Anglo-Saxon rulers who had once helped with the upkeep of this building in Rome.

The insignia of the Order of the Garter has been on display here for centuries, reflecting the links with the English monarchy.

And the King will take an honorary, spiritual title associated with the abbey, becoming what’s called a “royal confrater”, as part of the abbey’s confraternity.

This will be the first time that the King will have met the US-born Pope Leo. The King and Queen Camilla visited his predecessor, Pope Francis, for a private meeting on the royal couple’s 20th wedding anniversary, in the weeks before the death of the late pontiff.

Such state visits are carried out on behalf of the government and a Foreign Office spokeswoman said: “The Catholic Church is the largest denomination of the world’s largest religion.”

As such, the King and Queen’s visit will “strengthen the UK’s relationship with this crucial and influential partner”, she said.

Catherine Pepinster, a journalist and religion commentator, told the BBC’s Today programme the government will be looking for diplomatic alignment on issues including disarmament and the environment.

While the Pope and the King would make every effort to find common ground, she said, it should not be overlooked that divisions between their respective faiths still exist – such as the Catholic Church barring of women from the priesthood, something the Church of England allows.