UK royals meet Italy’s president and enjoy a special tour of Rome’s Colosseum

ROME (AP) — King Charles III and Queen Camilla met Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Tuesday, the second day of a state visit to Italy that marks the British monarch’s first overseas trip since he was briefly hospitalized for side effects from his cancer treatment.

The royal couple then visited some of Rome’s most iconic monuments, including the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, located in Piazza Venezia, where they laid a wreath. They enjoyed a special tour of the Colosseum, where they met a group of schoolchildren and were greeted by a cheering crowd of locals and tourists.

“I came here specifically to see the royals … It’s very emotional because it’s the first time I’ve seen them,” said Samuele Tassinari, an 18-year-old student visiting from the northern city of Bologna. “We saw them earlier on their way to the Quirinale, and now we saw them go by in their usual Bentley, which they also have in London. It was very exciting.”

Charles and Camilla were escorted to the Quirinale Palace by a group of over 30 mounted presidential guards and were greeted by Mattarella and his daughter in the palace’s courtyard.

The royal visit was also celebrated with a joint flyover of the presidential palace by the Italian air force’s aerobatic team, known as Frecce Tricolori, and the RAF’s Red Arrows.

Mattarella will host a state banquet for the British monarchs at the Quirinale Palace on Wednesday evening, which also marks the royal couple’s 20th wedding anniversary.

King Charles will also meet Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday, before addressing a joint session of the Italian Parliament in the afternoon, the first time a British monarch has done so.

In Rome, Charles will highlight the close links between Britain and Italy, two NATO allies, at a time when European nations are working to bolster support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia.

Charles and Camilla’s visit will also include a side trip to Ravenna, in the northern Emilia Romagna region, on Thursday to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Adriatic city’s liberation by Allied forces.

The royals will celebrate the cuisine of the region and meet with local farmers devastated by floods that recently hit the area.

“The visit to Italy will underscore the depth and breadth of the bilateral relationship,’’ the Buckingham Palace said in a statement.

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Associated Press videojournalist Silvia Stellaci in Rome contributed to this report.