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King Charles and Queen Camilla are heading to Vatican City to meet with Pope Leo for two days on Oct. 22 and 23The royal couple was scheduled to visit in April, but they postponed the trip due to the poor health of the late Pope FrancisThe King and Queen will attend historic services in the Sistine Chapel and at a basilica where Charles is set to be presented with a unique gift

New details have been shared about King Charles and Queen Camilla‘s visit to the Vatican, including a unique gift for the monarch.

He already has a throne or two, but when King Charles visits the pope in the Vatican next week, he will receive a new commemorative seat. The chair, which is seen as a mark of respect from Pope Leo and the Vatican, is being gifted to the King, 76. Charles will use it when he is at a service with Queen Camilla at an ancient basilica in the Vatican.

Complete with King Charles’ coat of arms, it will then be permanently left in the Basilica of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls after he and Camilla, 78, have left.

King Charles, as head of the Church of England, is visiting the new head of the worldwide Catholic Church on Oct. 22.

King Charles and Queen Camilla were scheduled to visit the Vatican in April as part of their week-long trip to Italy. However, it was postponed due to Pope Francis’ ill health at the time. Instead, the royal couple met privately with the Catholic leader on April 9. Francis died on April 21 at the age of 88, and Charles’ son and heir, Prince William, attended the pope’s funeral.

King Charles and Queen Camilla meet Pope Francis on April 9, 2025.

Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty

The two-day visit to the Vatican begins when Charles and Camilla visit with Pope Leo XIV in the Apostolic Palace, joining him to celebrate the 2025 Jubilee Year, which is traditionally marked every 25 years. The visit, the palace says, is a “significant moment in relations between the Catholic Church and Church of England, of which His Majesty is Supreme Governor, recognizing the ecumenical work they have undertaken and reflecting the Jubilee year’s theme of walking together as ‘Pilgrims of Hope.’ ”

The King and Chicago-raised Pope Leo, 70, will also pray together in an ecumenical service at the Sistine Chapel — the first time a monarch and a pope have done so in centuries, Buckingham Palace says.

The service will also feature the Children of the Choir of His Majesty’s Chapel Royal and the Choir of St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, accompanied by the Sistine Chapel Choir.

King Charles and Queen Camilla visit Italy on April 10, 2025.

Alessandro Bremec/NurPhoto via Getty

After the service, Queen Camilla will stay in the chapel to meet the choirs, while King Charles and the pope join a meeting on sustainability in the Sala Regia.

Finally, the couple will say their goodbyes to Pope Leo at the Apostolic Palace.

After the visit to the Holy See, King Charles and Queen Camilla will visit the Papal Basilica and Abbey of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, where Charles has been made “Royal Confrater” of the Abbey, a recognition from the Pope of spiritual fellowship. Celebrating that bond is the gift of the special chair for King Charles. It will remain in the apse of the Basilica for future use by the King and his heirs and successors.

King Charles and Queen Camilla in Italy on April 10, 2025.

CHRIS JACKSON/POOL/AFP via Getty

After the service, the King is expected to attend a reception at the Pontifical Beda College, a seminary which trains priests from across the Commonwealth, while Camilla will meet six Catholic Sisters from the International Union of Superiors General. The Sisters are working around the world at the grassroots level to support female empowerment through girls’ education programs and improved access to healthcare. They also tackle sexual violence and human trafficking, two subjects the Queen has worked hard on during her public life.

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The bond between the American pope and King Charles was underlined when Leo sent a heartfelt message to the British royal family when Katharine, Duchess of Kent, died on Sept. 4 at age 92.