#StateVisit
Diplomatic Dinners and Political Theatre
#StateVisit
Diplomatic Dinners and Political Theatre
State visits are like those big family reunions where everyone’s on their best behaviour, even though half the room secretly can’t stand each other and someone definitely owes someone else money. Leaders arrive grinning like cousins who haven’t spoken since that messy trade dispute, exchange gifts no one understands (“Thank you for this... ceremonial fishing spear?”), and endure elaborate dinners where nobody touches the food because they're too busy pretending to laugh at diplomatic jokes. There’s always one overeager staffer filming everything like it’s a wedding, and at least one awkward cultural moment that’ll live forever on the internet. It’s warm, weird, overly formal — and just like family, nobody really knows what they’re doing, but everyone claps anyway.
King Charles and Queen Camilla Touch Down in Rome for Historic Four-Day State Visit
- Monday, 07 April 2025
King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived in Rome for a four-day state visit to Italy, where they were welcomed with a red carpet ceremony at Ciampino Airport. Despite ongoing cancer treatment that saw him hospitalized just 12 days ago, Charles insisted on making the trip. The royal couple will attend 19 engagements between today and Thursday, with some Vatican events removed from the itinerary due to Pope Francis's recuperation after treating double pneumonia. They are staying at Villa Wolkonsky, home of the British ambassador to Italy, which features beautiful grounds crossed by a Neronian aqueduct dating back to the 1st Century AD.
