The Royal Family don’t shy away from wearing vibrant colours and so seeing Queen Camilla stepping out in Vatican City on 23rd October wearing head-to-toe black might have piqued many people’s curiosity. After all, we only really see the royals wearing black to funerals or memorials and this wasn’t your average black ensemble.
Her Majesty was elegant as ever but definitely more dramatic than usual in her black dress and waist-length veil. This was secured in place with a feather-adorned headpiece that was reminiscent of the one she wore at her wedding to King Charles.
The King’s navy suit made his wife’s black attire look even bolder and there’s a reason she wore this - and not another colour worn by other Queens.
It’s traditional for a Queen to wear black and a veil for an audience with the Pope at the Vatican as a sign of respect, modesty and humility. The late Queen Elizabeth followed this dress code several times, including when she met Pope John Paul II in 2000.
However, not everyone has to. Some royals are permitted to wear all white instead thanks to a rare privilege that Queen Camilla will never be granted. Only Catholic Queens and Princesses can receive the privilège du blanc and this is why Queen Letizia of Spain and Princess Charlene of Monaco - along with several others - have been pictured in white alongside the Pope.
Queen Camilla isn’t Catholic and is the wife of the Supreme Governor of the Church of England which is the reason the couple’s visit is so historic. It will mark the first time that a British monarch and Pope have prayed together at a church service since the English Reformation in the 16th century.
Queen Camilla isn’t Catholic and is the wife of the Supreme Governor of the Church of England which is the reason the couple’s visit is so historic. It will mark the first time that a British monarch and Pope have prayed together at a church service since the English Reformation in the 16th century.
The couple are in Vatican City for a historic State Visit coinciding with the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year celebrations and met with Pope Leo XIV for the first time since he was elected in May.
They previously met with his predecessor Pope Francis in April and although Queen Camilla didn’t don a veil on this occasion, she did wear black. Religion plays a key part in the Royal Family’s lives and the late Queen Elizabeth was known to have been incredibly devout.
It was her position as head of the Church of England which has long been rumoured to have inspired her decision not to attend divorcees King Charles and Queen Camilla’s wedding in 2005, though she did attend a service of prayer and dedication afterwards.
Queen Elizabeth also hosted a reception for them at Windsor Castle and a palace statement released at the time stated that she was "aware that the Prince and Mrs Parker Bowles wanted to keep the occasion low-key" and that’s why she was absent from the ceremony. During her reign and now in King Charles’s religion is the focus of two of the biggest occasions where we see the royals come together every year.
Each Christmas they gather at Sandringham House and walk to church on Christmas Day and on Easter Sunday they are pictured walking to St George’s Chapel.
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