King Charles, Queen Camilla to visit Vatican after Pope's message on Duchess of Kent's death

King Charles III and Queen Camilla will travel to Vatican City next month for their first meeting with Pope Leo XIV, British media reported citing palace sources.

The October engagement will be the royal couple’s only overseas visit this autumn.

The meeting with the new pontiff, elected in May following the death of Pope Francis, comes just days after Leo XIV sent condolences to the Royal Family on the death of Katharine, Duchess of Kent.

The Duchess, who died earlier this month, was the first senior royal to convert to Catholicism since the Act of Settlement barred Catholics from the line of succession in 1701. 

She converted in 1994 with Queen Elizabeth II’s permission. 

Her funeral was held according to Catholic customs, and Pope Leo sent a message expressing “prayerful closeness” to her husband, the Duke of Kent, and their family.

The British monarchy, by contrast, is legally Protestant, with the monarch serving as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. 

The king is required to uphold the Protestant succession, highlighting a key difference in faith between Charles and his late cousin-in-law.

The two-day visit will mark the first time Charles meets the American-born pontiff, formerly Robert Prevost, since his elevation to the papacy.