King Charles pays tribute to Pope Francis after sharing 'significant' moment days earlier

The Royal Family has paid tribute to after spending his life "dedicated to the service of the Church."

has : "My wife and I were most deeply saddened to learn of the death of Pope Francis. Our heavy hearts have been somewhat eased, however, to know that His Holiness was able to share an Easter Greeting with the Church and the he served with such devotion throughout his life and ministry.

"His Holiness will be remembered for his compassion, his concern for the unity of the Church and for his tireless commitment to the common causes of all people of faith, and to those of goodwill who work for the benefit of others. His belief that care for Creation is an existential expression of faith in God resounded with so many across the world.

"Through his work and care for both people and planet, he profoundly touched the lives of so many. The Queen and I remember with particular affection our meetings with His Holiness over the years and we were greatly moved to have been able to visit him earlier in the month.

"We send our most heartfelt condolences and profound sympathy to the Church he served with such resolve and to the countless people around the world who, inspired by his life, will be mourning the devastating loss of this faithful follower of Jesus Christ."

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The death of Francis comes just weeks after and had a private meeting with the pope, who was then recovering from double pneumonia. During their official visit to Italy, where the royal couple had been scheduled to meet the head of the Catholic Church as well as visit the Sistine Chapel, they were pictured with Francis, with the Queen shaking his hand while the King stood next to her smiling.

There was an exchange of gifts, with Charles seen holding a small red box. posted the picture on the royal family’s official X, formerly , account with the words “Che occasione speciale!” – what a special occasion.

It went on to say: “A special moment for Their Majesties as they privately met His Holiness Pope Francis at the Vatican yesterday. The King and Queen were deeply touched by The Pope's kind remarks about their 20th wedding anniversary and honoured to be able to share their best wishes to him in person.”

A senior Palace official said afterwards: “I think outside of the official programme, the most significant and indeed moving thing was that visit to the Pope. We didn’t know until the last minute that it would be possible. But when the Pope asked if he could see the King and Queen, Their Majesties were clearly very pleased; after all, they have known him over many years and with the rest of the , have been praying for his recovery.

“The Pope wanted personally to wish them a happy anniversary, not least because it hadn’t been possible to do the state visit on this occasion. Their Majesties both came away feeling that it had been a very significant and special moment.”

The meeting was the first time in more than a decade that a British monarch, as head of the Church of England, had met the head of the Catholic Church. The late Queen Elizabeth II had a personal audience with Pope Francis on a trip to the Italian capital in 2014.

Charles and Francis previously met on two occasions, lastly in 2019 when Charles, as Prince of Wales, undertook a visit to the Vatican. The encounter took place as the monarch attended the canonisation of Cardinal John Henry Newman, the first English saint to be created in decades. The King also met the Pope in 2017 when as the heir he visited Rome with the then Duchess of Cornwall.

Charles's first meeting with a Pope since his divorce in 1996 came in 2009, when he, along with Camilla who he married in 2005, met Pope Benedict at the Vatican. In a bizarre twist, their wedding in 2005 was postponed by a day so the now-King and some of the other guests could go to the funeral of John Paul II. At the time, Rome remarked how it demonstrated the closeness of the papacy and British .

In 2014 the late Queen Elizabeth II had a personal audience with Pope Francis in a trip to the Italian capital. Pope Francis, who has experienced mobility problems in recent years, did not attend the Queen’s funeral in 2022, choosing instead to send a Liverpool-born priest to represent him.

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