Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla to meet Pope Francis in April
The British royal family is ramping up its “We still love you even though our citizens voted for Brexit” European charm offensive.
In addition to Prince William and Duchess Kate’s two-day visit to Paris this weekend, Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, are being dispatched on a weeklong tour of Europe that includes their first meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican in early April.
Their trip begins March 29 in the Romanian capital of Bucharest and will conclude April 6 in Vienna.
While in Italy, Charles and Camilla will visit the city of Amatrice, which was hit by an earthquake in August 2016. Charles plans to meet with local families and rescue personnel.
Meanwhile, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, will tour a Neapolitan villa confiscated from the mafia that now houses a youth project. And while in Florence, she’ll visit Associazione Progetto Arcobaleno, which helps immigrants and female victims of human trafficking learn new languages and forge new careers.
Anti-human trafficking efforts will be a major philanthropic focus for the whole trip, with the royals meeting with similar groups in Austria and Romania to learn about cooperative efforts between those countries and the United Kingdom.
The trip includes several of the Prince of Wales’ favorite things to do, such as tour the ancient Roman archaeological site at Herculaneum, sample “slow food” in art-rich Florence, watch the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra rehearse Mozart, and check out organic wine-making in Austria.
Charles also will visit war memorials in Romania and northern Italy, where he will commemorate the centenary of the deployment of the British Expeditionary Force to the Austrian front during World War I.
On a happier note, the royals, who are both lifelong equestrians, will visit Vienna’s Spanish Riding School, home to Austria’s famed Lipizzaner horses.