King Charles and Pope Leo to pray together inside Sistine Chapel during historic Vatican state visit: Live updates

Former Conservative cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg said King Charles’s state visit to the Vatican marked a ‘wonderful symbolic gesture of Christian unity’.

Mr Rees-Mogg made the remarks last night on his GB News show.

In recognition of his lifetime of campaigning on issues of inter-faith harmony, Pope Leo will make Charles a ‘Royal Confrater’ of the Papal Basilica and Abbey of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls.

The gift of ‘confraternity’ is a recognition of spiritual fellowship – ‘frater’ meaning brother in Latin.

In further celebration of this new bond, a special seat has been created for His Majesty, which will remain in the Basilica as a perpetual mark of mutual respect between Pope Leo and The King as Heads of State.

The special chair is decorated with His Majesty’s Coat of Arms and will be used by the King during the service, after which it will remain in the apse of the Basilica for future use by the monarch and his heirs and successors.

During an ecumenical service in the famous Sistine Chapel, the King, Supreme Governor of the Church of England, will become the first British monarch to pray at a public service with the Pope, head of the Catholic Church, since the Reformation.

Nearly 500 years ago, in 1534, King Henry VIII led the country’s breakaway from Rome as he declared himself the head of the Church of England and severed ties with the Roman Catholic Church over its refusal to grant him an annulment to his marriage of Catherine of Aragon – the first of his six wives.

Today’s meeting with Pope Leo has enormous personal significance for King Charles, both as Supreme Governor of the Church of England and someone who has devoted his life to promoting interfaith harmony.

For the government, the State Visit to The Holy See is also seen as preaching a particularly important message of religious tolerance in an increasingly fractured world.

It’s also important to remember that the 76-year-old monarch is also still undergoing regular cancer treatment – something many easily forget given how packed his public diary is.

As a result, there is no doubt that Buckingham Palace are determinedly focusing on official duties and putting the ever-growing furore over his brother, Prince Andrew, to one side.

However today’s visit also comes at a difficult time for the monarch, who has faced weeks of uncomfortable headlines over the behaviour of his brother, Prince Andrew, his links to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, allegations of abuse against Virgina Giuffre, and outrage over his living arrangements.

While the King moved decisively on Friday and forced Andrew to voluntarily stand down from using his titles, including that of the the Duke of York, his attempts to seize the narrative have not halted the growing public furore.

There are increasing cross-party calls for an official investigation into the prince’s links with Epstein and his living arrangements at 30-room Royal Lodge, as well as demands that Parliament formally strip him of his titles and force him to become a private citizen.

As he becomes the first British monarch in almost half a century to pray with the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in the Sistine Chapel later this morning, Charles may quietly offer a silent plea of his own for some divine intervention.

King Charles landed in Rome last night determined to focus on official duties and put the growing furore over his brother Prince Andrew to one side.

The monarch, 76, who despite his ongoing cancer treatement has a packed week of public engagements, is undertaking an historic meeting with Pope Leo this morning along with his wife, Queen Camilla.

As they touched down in Rome she sported a feather print silk dress by Fiona Clare and a brown cashmere trench coat by Anne Valentine. ‘It’s a great pleasure to be here,’ she said.

The King meanwhile told Monsignor Javier Domingo Fernández González, who greeted him on the Pope’s behalf: ‘It’s wonderful to be able to come back to Rome.’

Hello and welcome to the Daily Mail’s live coverage as King Charles and Queen Camilla begin their state visit to the Vatican by meeting Pope Leo XIV for the first time since he was elected to office.

Charles and Camilla, who arrived in Rome on Wednesday evening, will be greeted by Pope Leo in his official residence, the Apostolic Palace ahead of a historic day of events.

The state visit to the Holy See, the government of the Roman Catholic Church in the Vatican, is understood to be deeply significant for the King personally and will celebrate the Papal Jubilee held every 25 years.

Stick with us for live updates throughout the day with the latest developments from the Vatican.