Catching up with the royals (April 21, 2025 edition)
The King and the Pope, the King and Canada, and the King and Trump
The King’s message
The message of King Charles III on the death of Pope Francis:
My wife and I were most deeply saddened to learn of the death of Pope Francis. Our heavy hearts have been somewhat eased, however, to know that His Holiness was able to share an Easter Greeting with the Church and the world he served with such devotion throughout his life and ministry.
His Holiness will be remembered for his compassion, his concern for the unity of the Church and for his tireless commitment to the common causes of all people of faith, and to those of goodwill who work for the benefit of others. His belief that care for Creation is an existential expression of faith in God resounded with so many across the world. Through his work and care for both people and planet, he profoundly touched the lives of so many.
The Queen and I remember with particular affection our meetings with His Holiness over the years and we were greatly moved to have been able to visit him earlier in the month. Wesend our most heartfelt condolences and profound sympathy to the Church he served with such resolve and to the countless people around the world who, inspired by his life, will be mourning the devastating loss of this faithful follower of Jesus Christ.’
Charles R.
The King and Pope had much in common, including their commitment to interfaith reconciliation and their long-standing advocacy of fighting climate change. They met several times when Charles was heir, but only once in his dual role as monarch and Defender of the Faith of the Church of England.
Pope Francis died on April 21, 2025, twelve days after he met King Charles III and Queen Camilla in the Vatican during their state visit to Italy (the Vatican state visit was postponed because of the Pope’s ill health). As the royal family’s social media accounts stated:
A special moment for Their Majesties as they privately met His Holiness Pope Francis at the Vatican yesterday.
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.
Easter services
Queen Camilla, King Charles, his siblings and their families gathered at Windsor Castle for Easter service. As it’s a family gathering, Prince Andrew was there after skipping being seen at Christmas due to scandals, as was his ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York (also, they live five minutes away, so that would have been super-duper awkward if they weren’t invited).
Prince William, Kate, Princess of Wales, and their kids stayed at their country home on the Sandringham estate, where they were spotted attending church on Easter Sunday. While many were disappointed that they weren’t at Windsor, they’ve missed the Windsor service before. Indeed, when Charles was heir, he and Camilla would regularly skip Easter at Windsor when Elizabeth II was on the throne, instead staying to their own rural retreat of Birkhall on the Balmoral estate.
On Maundy Thursday, the King and Queen went to Durham Cathedral where they handed out specially minted "Maundy money" to those who have made a difference in their community. The monarch's age determines the number of each year’s recipients, so 76 men and 76 women were given the special money at Durham Cathedral.
No to drones
The Sandringham estate has been declared a no-fly zone for drones and all aircraft after drones were spotted during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to King Charles in March.
Will the King of Canada open Parliament?
Robert Hardman, who wrote the definitive book on the first year of the King’s reign and has good palace sources, reports:
The Mail has also learned that Foreign Office and Palace sources are preparing for another invitation which will be of equal importance and could arrive in a matter of days.
Canada goes to the polls on April 28 and it is now anticipated that a new prime minister, whether Liberal or Conservative, is likely to invite the King of Canada to open the new Parliament. Though that would be purely a matter between Canada and the King, there could be implications for the UK, given Canada's more combative relations with Washington.
Such a quick trip to open Parliament would be a major event given that Canada is under threat from President Trump who wants to annex the country. It would also echo his mother’s first visit as monarch, when she wore her coronation gown to open Parliament in Ottawa in 1957. Again, renovations will alter plans, somewhat as the Senate is currently based in the old train station turned conference centre across from the Chateau Laurier.
Updates on upcoming state visits
Amid reports that King Charles wants more state visits each year than the two favoured by Queen Elizabeth (one spring, one autumn), there were updates on two such visits.
a) The Times reports that President Emmanuel Macron of France will get a state visit in Britain in May. No dates or official confirmation have been made but it could be near the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War (V-E Day is May 8).
b) Last Thursday, President Trump gave an update: “It’s a very great honour. And I think they’re setting a date for September. It’s an honour to be a friend of Charles I have great respect for King Charles and the family... William…I don’t know how it could be bigger than the last one. The last one, as you know, was incredible, but they said it’s going to be even more important.”
It’s not 100 percent clear if Trump is talking about a state visit or a possible private visit to see the King ahead of a state visit, similar to the tea he had in 2018 before his 2019 state visit. That’s when he infamously blocked the Queen while she was trying to escort him during an inspection of the guard of honour.
What is known is that no state visits will be held at Buckingham Palace because the wing containing the state rooms is a construction zone as it is renovated. For the next few years, state visits will be held at Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.
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