The Queen will visit Pope Francis at the Vatican in April, Buckingham Palace announced.
A February 4 statement said Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, will meet the pope on April 3.
The queen and prince will visit Rome at the invitation of Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, the statement said.
It said the royal couple would attend a private lunch hosted by the president at the presidential palace, then would have an audience with the pope at the Vatican.
The 87-year-old queen, who has reigned since 1952, was the first British sovereign to welcome a pope to England when she greeted Blessed Pope John Paul II in London in 1982. Continue reading