Ciaos & Camilla

Royals plan Italy trip after success of the Down Under tour

- RUSSELL MYERS

THE King and Queen will visit Italy for their first major tour of 2025, as Charles sets his sights on "making up for lost time".

The royal duo are planning a trip to Rome and hope to schedule an audience with the Pope at the Vatican.

They will be travelling on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, representing the UK with a schedule designed to further the relationship between the two countries in a post-Brexit world.

Buckingham Palace last week announced following the royals' successful tour of Australia and Samoa that the King is set to return to a "full programme" next year.

Despite his ongoing cancer treatment, the monarch has been given the green light by royal doctors to start planning for the future, which has given him a huge boost.

Palace sources said the King will embark on a high-profile tour in the spring as well as a major royal tour in the autumn.

All options would be subject to sign off by doctors at the time but palace officials say Charles is excited about the future plans.

The tour could include a meeting between the King and Pope Francis, who at 87 has been head of the Catholic Church since 2013.