Forty Years: The Historic State Visit of The Queen to the Vatican
17th October 2020
Forty years ago, on 17 October 1980,
Queen Elizabeth II made history as she became the first British
Monarch to make a state visit to the Vatican. The visit was seen as
a chance to forge relations between the Church of England and the
Roman Catholic Church. The Queen, who was accompanied by her
husband the Duke of Edinburgh, dressed in a long black taffeta gown
in line with Vatican protocol.

