THE Pope held a non-public meeting with the King and Queen on the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta, on Wednesday afternoon, and gave them his “best wishes” for his or her twentieth wedding anniversary.
The King and Queen were on the third day of a state visit to Italy, where they’ve also met the President, Sergio Mattarella, and the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, in Rome.
A press release released by Buckingham Palace after the meeting on the Vatican said that the King and Queen had been “delighted the Pope was well enough to host them — and to have had the chance to share their best wishes in person”.
They had been “deeply touched by the Pope’s kind remarks about their twentieth wedding anniversary and honoured to find a way to share their best wishes to him in person”, the statement continued.
The Royal Family’s social-media accounts posted a photograph of the three, with the caption “Che occasione speciale”, which translates as “What an important day.”
Pope Francis has been convalescing on the Casa Santa Marta since being released from the Gemelli Hospital, just over two weeks ago (News, 28 March).
A press release from the Holy See Press Office said that the Pope had “reciprocated His Majesty’s wishes for a speedy recovery of his health”, referring to the King’s hospital visit in late March for the uncomfortable side effects of treatment for cancer, which was diagnosed last yr (News, 9 February 2024).
