Take spring sunshine, a bit of romance and the eternally beautiful backdrop of Rome and you can only get one thing: the picture perfect royal event of 2025.
In April this year, King Charles and Queen Camilla headed to Italy for a State Visit that provided the prettiest photo album of a vitally important event designed to cement relations between the two countries. Add in a few, extra special moments from The Queen and this became the best looking royal event of the year.
Rome is always glorious and King Charles and Queen Camilla began their time in the city under blue skies that were quickly filled with patriotic smoke trails in an aerial display over the Quirinale Palace. The Red Arrows took part in the show alongside the Frecce Tricolori that saw the spring sunshine bounce around red, white and blue and red, white and green as the flags of the UK and Italy were brought to life high above Rome.
It’s hard not to get a good photo in front of the Colosseum and The King and Queen headed there for a tour and a chance to meet the sizeable crowds who had turned out to see them. They stopped for more photos on a balcony at the Temple of Venus, goddess of love, an appropriate pick for a couple about to mark their 20th wedding anniversary.
The anniversary itself, April 9, saw The King and Queen captured in a romantic portrait in the grounds of the Villa Wolkonsky, the current official residence of the British Ambassador to Italy. Queen Camilla wore a symbolic brooch that added another layer of spring sweetness – the jewel is shaped as lily of the valley, a flower which denotes a return to happiness.
There was more symbolic jewellery for The Queen at the State Banquet held during the visit. Queen Camilla wore a turquoise necklace that she inherited from her mother, Rosalind Shand, who died in 1994.
It was the perfect pick to complement an emerald green dress which gave a nod to the colours of Italy’s flag. The photogenic evening ended with a special gift from King Charles who had brought along his own piper to play for his host, the President of Italy.
Queen Camilla made sure the photo album was complete as she and King Charles visited Ravenna as the tour came to an end. The Queen rewore one of her two wedding dresses from her celebrations in 2005. As she walked around the famously beautiful streets of the city, she was in the Anna Valentine cream coat that she wore for the civil ceremony that made her a royal on April 9 2005. And, just when we thought the pictures would stop coming, Queen Camilla happily tucked into a (colour co-ordinated) ice cream to make this State Visit super sweet.
The weather was kind, once more, to Charles and Camilla as they greeted crowds in Ravenna. Standing on a balcony over looking the lovely main piazza, they drew a healthy following with the spring sunshine adding a rosy glow. The State Visit, which also saw The King meet Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in a good humoured audience, was hailed an important success. Romance, Ravenna and Rome all helped to provide a picture perfect moment for the royals.
