08-04-2025
King and Queen welcomed to Rome with flypast
The King and Queen have been welcomed to Italy with a flypast by the combined air forces of the Red Arrows and the Frecce Tricolori.
The couple, who celebrate their 20th anniversary tomorrow, were officially welcomed to Italy by Sergio Mattarella, the country's president, and his daughter, Laura Mattarella, at his residence the Quirinale Palace in Rome.
The president and the King will hold a private meeting while the statesman's daughter, who acts as the first lady after the death of his wife, will show the Queen a selection of antique books on horsemanship in the Biblioteca del Piffetti and tour the state rooms.
Later the King and Queen, who are making a four-day state visit to Italy, which began on Monday, will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Altare della Patria, Rome's large national monument to Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of a unified Italy.
Later on Tuesday, the couple will also visit the Colosseum to hear about the ongoing restoration work on and around the monument.
The first full day of the State visit to Italy will see the couple out and about in Rome while the Duke of Sussex is in London for his security appeal, and the Duchess of Sussex launches the first episode of her new podcast.
The King and Queen will celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary on April 9, with three new official photographs already taken to mark the occasion in the garden of the British ambassador's residence shortly after they landed in Rome on Monday night.
The day will end with the couple attending a reception with members of the British-Italian community, with representatives from business, arts and culture, military and defence, and education and youth sectors.
