The event marked the first time since the Reformation that the heads of the two Christian churches, divided for centuries over issues that now include the ordination of female priests, have prayed together.

According to a social media post on the royal family's official Instagram, King Charles and Queen Camilla's visit includes a visit to the Papal Basilica and a reception at the Pontifical Beda College, a seminary that trains priests from across the Commonwealth.

King Charles has become the first English monarch to publicly pray with a Catholic pontiff in 500 years during an historic visit to the Vatican.