Queen Mathilde wears white to meet Pope Leo XIV for this historic reason

King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians have met Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican just days after the high profile State Visit of King Charles and Queen Camilla.

The Belgian royals had an audience with the Pope at the Holy See where the also exchanged gifts.

Philippe and Mathilde had already met Leo XIV when they attended his inauguration mass in May following his election as Pope.

However, that was a brief, public greeting. This visit to the Vatican marks their first private audience with the new Pontiff since he was chosen by the College of Cardinals to replace Pope Francis who died on April 21 2025.

One of the last overseas visits made by Francis had been to Belgium where he was greeted by King Philippe and Queen Mathilde during his stay in late 2024.

The King and Queen of the Belgians are both Catholic and Belgium’s monarchy is a Catholic monarchy. That’s why Queen Mathilde wore white to meet Pope Leo.

Since the 19th century, the queens of Catholic monarchies have had the right to wear white during meetings with the Pope. The protocol is known as the privilege du blanc and was used by Mathilde and other royals, including Queen Letizia of Spain and Princess Charlene of Monaco, during the inauguration Mass for Leo XIV who was elected Pope on May 8 2025.

The King and Queen of the Belgians were given a Guard of Honour by the Swiss Guard as they arrived at the Vatican for their audience.

They were then greeted by Pope Leo before posing for official photos alongside the Pontiff.

During his meeting with King Charles and Queen Camilla last week, the Pope made reference to the cameras that now accompany many of his moves with Charles III telling him that he’d get used to them.

The State Visit of King Charles and Queen Camilla marked the Jubilee year of the Catholic church, held every 25 years. It was set to take place earlier in 2025 but had to be postponed after Pope Francis became ill.

Instead, King Charles and Queen Camilla had a private meeting with Francis in the Vatican when they visited Italy in April. The late Pope gave them his blessings on their 20th wedding anniversary which they celebrated in Rome.