King Charles III arrived in Rome on Wednesday for a state visit to the Vatican, where he will meet Pope Leo XIV and become the first British monarch in five centuries to pray publicly with a pontiff since the Church of England’s split from Rome.

The visit comes amid renewed controversy surrounding the king’s brother, Prince Andrew, following new allegations linked to the late US financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

After landing at Rome’s Ciampino military airport alongside Queen Camilla, Charles was due to meet Pope Leo XIV, who succeeded the late Pope Francis in May.

On Thursday, the king – head of the Anglican Church – and the pope will take part in a joint prayer ceremony, marking the first public religious act of its kind since Henry VIII’s 16th-century break with the Catholic Church.

Buckingham Palace described the two-day visit as “a significant moment in relations between the Catholic Church and Church of England.” The highlight will be an ecumenical service in the Sistine Chapel, themed around environmental protection, a cause long championed by the king. Choirs from the Sistine Chapel and St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, will perform together.

“It is a historic event principally because the king is supreme governor of the Church of England and required by law to be a Protestant,” said William Gibson, professor of theology at Oxford Brookes University.

The royal couple will also attend a service at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, where Charles will be named a “Royal Confrater” of the adjoining abbey – a symbolic gesture of “spiritual communion” between the Anglican and Catholic Churches. A special seat for the monarch will be installed there for use by future British kings and queens.

The visit coincides with preparations for the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year in 2025, which draws millions of pilgrims to the Vatican.

It also follows the release of a memoir by Virginia Giuffre, who alleges she was trafficked by Epstein and forced to have sex with Prince Andrew as a teenager. In response, Andrew has reportedly agreed to relinquish his title as Duke of York under pressure from Charles.

King Charles, 76, continues to receive treatment for cancer, first disclosed in early 2024. The monarch, who has visited the Vatican several times before, last met Pope Francis privately in April, just days before the pontiff’s death.