The British King Charles III and Queen Camilla welcomed by the Italian Minister of Defense, Piazza Venezia, in Rome, on April 8, 2025. (Credit: Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters.)
Charles III attended the flyover of Rome by Italian and British air patrols Tuesday morning during his reception by the Italian president, as part of his four-day state visit with Queen Camilla.
This visit comes ten days after the 76-year-old British monarch was briefly hospitalized due to side effects from his cancer treatment.
Charles and Camilla, who will celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary in Rome, warmly smiled at the public as they traveled by limousine through the capital's streets to the Quirinal Palace, the residence of the president dating back to the 16th century.
The royal couple was greeted by President Sergio Mattarella and his daughter Laura, the palace's orchestra played the British and Italian national anthems. The royal couple and the president then attended the aerial parade by the Italian Air Force's aerobatic squadron, the 'Frecce Tricolori' ('Tricolor Arrows'), and its British equivalent, the 'Red Arrows'.
The king and queen are scheduled to visit the Colosseum, Rome's iconic Roman amphitheater, later in the day. Camilla wore a diamond and sapphire brooch that belonged to Queen Victoria.
A pair of British tourists from Bath, Lucy and Peter Smith, were thrilled: "We saw Charles, and he waved to us. I got a good look at his face," Lucy Smith, 52, told AFP. The couple explained that the king's presence in Rome during their stay was a coincidence. "We booked before him, he copied us," joked Peter Smith.
Another British tourist, Greeba Padbury, visiting Rome for her 70th birthday, missed the royal couple but wasn't too disappointed: "We can see him at home." Meanwhile, "we're going to have a spritz because it's 10 a.m. (8 a.m. GMT) and we're in Rome," she said.
Charles has already made 17 official visits to Italy, but this is the first since his accession to the throne following the death of his mother Elizabeth II in 2022. During his visit, he is also set to meet with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and will be the first British monarch to address a joint session of Parliament.
The royal couple, who married on April 9, 2005, after a long affair during Charles' marriage to the late Princess Diana, will celebrate their anniversary Wednesday at a state banquet.
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