Queen Elizabeth II and Pope Francis I

Queen Elizabeth II and Pope Francis I have held a private audience at the Vatican.  The Queen and the Pope exchanged gifts during their visit with Francis I giving a copy of a decree by Edward the Confessor to his royal guest.

The Queen and Pope Francis exchange gifts at their meeting at the Vatican

(photo Gerry O'Connell)

The Pontiff also presented Elizabeth II with a lapis lazuli orb topped with the cross of St Edward the Confessor for Prince George.  The Queen gave the Pope a hamper of Royal Estate goods and a signed photo of herself and the Duke of Edinburgh.

An orb of lapis lazuli topped with a silver cross of St Edward the Confessor - the gift of 

Pope Francis I to Prince George of Cambridge

The Queen and the Pope spent around twenty minutes together in a private audience before Elizabeth II left for the airport.  It is the seventh time the Queen has met a pope although her first audience came in 1951 when she was still a princess.  Elizabeth II met Pius XII, John XXIII, John Paul II and Benedict XVI before her audience with Francis.  Their meeting, 100 years after Great Britain re-established links with the Holy See, is another chapter in the relationship between the two states.

Pleased to meet you - the Queen and Pope Francis