Britain's King Charles III, head of the Church of England, and Queen Camilla will make an historic state visit to the Vatican next week to meet Pope Leo XIV for the first time, Buckingham Palace said on Friday.

"The King and Queen will undertake an historic state visit to the Holy See from 22nd-23rd October 2025. The visit will mark Their Majesties' first meeting with Pope Leo XIV since his election in May 2025," a palace statement said.

The trip will come around six months after the royal couple met Leo's predecessor, Pope Francis, in a private visit shortly before his death.

Francis died on April 21 after 12 years as head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.

Leo, 70, who has a history of missionary work in Peru and is the first pope from the United States, was elected in a conclave

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