King and Queen meet Pope Francis at Vatican on their anniversary

King Charles and Queen Camilla have had a private meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican where he wished them a happy 20th wedding anniversary.

In a statement released by the Buckingham Palace, the King and Queen said they were “delighted the Pope was well enough to host them – and to have had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person”.

The meeting took place on the third day of their state visit to Italy and ahead of a state banquet in Rome on Wednesday evening.

It is understood the meeting was confirmed on Wednesday morning. It came after previous plans for the couple to meet the pontiff in a formal state visit to the Vatican were postponed while the Pope recovered from illness.

A still picture of meeting is due to be released on Thursday morning.

It took place at the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta, where Pope Francis has been convalescing since being released from Gemelli Hospital.

According to the Vatican, the King and Queen gave the Pope “best wishes for a speedy recovery of his health”.

The King and Queen have been enjoying a warm welcome on their state visit to Italy, but it was a trip that originally had a significant focus on visiting the Vatican and planned events such as a service at the Sistine Chapel.

That had been no longer been possible after the serious health problems of Pope Francis – but with his health slightly improving the King and Queen had the opportunity for a brief meeting.

Earlier in the day, King Charles had warned of the need for democracies such as the UK and Italy to stand together in such troubled international times, as he became the first UK monarch to address both houses of the Italian Parliament.

The King received a long standing ovation from parliamentarians in Rome.

The visit also coincided with the King and Queen’s 20th wedding anniversary.

Queen Camilla, who attended Parliament with the King, was wearing the outfit she wore at her civil wedding in 2005.

The ivory silk dress designed by Anna Valentine had been “repurposed” to wear again for this anniversary day and the visit to Italy’s Parliament.

The King’s speech to Italy’s lawmakers, in their ornately-decorated chamber in the Palazzo Montecitorio, was a rallying call to defend shared values and the need to reinforce the military partnership between the UK and Italy.

“We are both European countries,” he said, standing in front of the Italian and European Union flags.

He welcomed that the UK and Italy “stood by Ukraine in her hour of need”, but warned that images of wars were now reverberating across the continent.

“Our younger generations can see in the news every day on their smartphones and tablets that peace is never to be taken for granted,” said the King.

Such threats meant it was important that “Britain and Italy stand today united in defence of the democratic values we share”, he told Parliament.

Delivering some of the speech in Italian, he spoke of the long history between the UK and Italy and shared culture, going back to the ancient Romans arriving on Britain’s “windswept shores”.

Part of the culture being returned was musicians such as Ed Sheeran playing in Italy.

The King told the Parliament that he wanted to strengthen links to Italy, a “country dear to my heart”.

As head of the Commonwealth, he also spoke of the role of Canadian troops in helping to liberate Italy in the Second World War.

The speech went down well with the assembled Parliamentarians – with the applause so long at one point that an Italian official began speaking to thank him, assuming that the King had finished.

The King began the day by meeting Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, receiving a ceremonial red-carpet welcome at the Villa Doria Pamphili, on the outskirts of Rome.

The King and Meloni seemed to be having an animated conversation, with the politician a fluent English speaker, as they walked around the 17th Century palace’s gardens.

A military band on horseback lined up in front of the palace to greet the King, against the villa’s backdrop of orange trees and views stretching over St Peter’s and the Vatican.

The royal couple will spend the evening of their wedding anniversary at a state banquet at the Quirinale Palace, an event likely to be a showcase for local food and for a guest list of celebrities and dignitaries.

The King and Queen have been given a warm reception on their trip to Italy, posing for photos on Tuesday as they met crowds outside the Colosseum, near the ancient site of the Temple of Venus.

There were calls of “Carlo” – Italian for Charles – from crowds waiting to see the royal visitors and local media also seemed interested by their car, the claret coloured State Bentley.

Back home at Buckingham Palace, there was a musical tribute to mark the royal couple’s wedding anniversary.

The Royal Family’s official X account posted a video which showed guards playing a brass version of Madness’s 1981 hit It Must Be Love.