King Charles makes state visit to Italy

By Christopher Wells

King Charles is set to become the first British monarch to address a joint session of the Italian Parliament during his first overseas trip in 2025.

The King and his wife Queen Camilla arrived in Rome on Monday evening to begin a four-day state visit that coincides with the royal couple’s twentieth wedding anniversary. It is the 17th official visit of King Charles to Italy and his first major journey since a brief hospitalization due to side effects of his cancer treatments.

The King and Queen in Rome

On the first day of his visit, the King met with Italian President Sergio Matarella at the presidential palace, before visiting the imposing Victor Emmanuel II Monument in the heart of Rome. The monument is dedicated to the first king of a unified Italy. While there, King Charles laid a wreath at Italy’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and was honoured with a joint flypast by the Italian Air Force aerobatic team the “Frecce Tricolori” and their Royal Air Force counterparts, the “Red Arrows.”

Later in the afternoon, the King and Queen visited the Archaeological Park at the Colosseum.

On Wednesday, King Charles will meet with Italian Prime Minister before visiting a round table, chaired by the UK’s foreign secretary, on “Clean Energy Supply Chains.”

He will then head to the Palazzo Madama, the seat of the Italian Senate, where he will speak before a joint session of Parliament. In the evening, the King will attend private meetings as well as a state banquet hosted by President Matarella.

Visit to Ravenna

On Thursday and Friday the King and Queen will travel to the northern Italian city of Ravenna, where they will visit the tomb of Dante. During their stay in Ravenna, King Charles will visit the 5th and 6th century mosaics in the Basilica of San Vitale and the adjacent Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, and take part in a meeting of the Academy of Fine Arts of Ravenna.

The King and Queen will also attend a reception marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the province of Ravenna by Allied Forces, including British and Canadian forces, during the Second World War.

The visit will also provide an opportunity for the King and Queen to take part in a regional festival celebrating traditional cuisine, with King Charles meeting with local farmers, including those affected by the floods that have afflicted Ravenna in recent years.