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Buckingham Palace Posts Striking Portrait of King Charles and Queen Camilla with the Pope (and I Need to Know What's in that Box)

Three icons in one room

King Charles Camilla
Karwai Tang/WireImage

King Charles and Queen Camilla are living their best lives on their royal tour through Italy. From a glamorous State Banquet at the Palazzo to soaking up history at the Colosseum, their four-day trip has been nonstop. And of course, no tour would be complete without a stop at the Vatican to meet the Pope Francis—which they absolutely made happen.

Buckingham Palace dropped a photo from the visit, showing Queen Camilla dressed in classic all-black, shaking hands with Pope Francis. King Charles stood right beside her in a sharp black suit, holding a red box (what was inside? I'm curious too).

“Che occasione speciale,” the caption read—Italian for “What a special occasion.”

“A special moment for Their Majesties as they privately met His Holiness Pope Francis at the Vatican yesterday," the post continued. "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."

Their trip wraps up on April 10 and while it’s been packed with official duties and photo ops, one extra-special detail stands out—their anniversary fell right in the middle of it. It's unclear if they got a chance to celebrate privately but the Palace definitely made sure the milestone was marked.

To honor 20 years together, the official royal Instagram posted a sweet highlight reel of the couple over the years—from dancing and laughing to traveling the world together. The simple caption? “20 Happy Years.”

They posted more snapshots of Charles and Camilla touring Rome, including visits to iconic spots like the Colosseum and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

“When in Rome,” they cheekily captioned the post, complete with the Italian flag emoji. Iconic.

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