0:02 Now, King Charles has begun an historic
0:04 state visit to the Vatican. He and the
0:05 Queen are due to meet Pope Leo for the
0:07 first time since he was elected. The
0:09 king will become the first British
0:11 monarch to pray publicly with the
0:12 Pontiff since the breakaway from the
0:14 Catholic Church and creation of the
0:17 Church of England in the 16th century.
0:18 While the visit comes as questions
0:20 remain over the king's brother, Prince
0:22 Andrew, and his links to the convicted
0:24 sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. The
0:26 prince has always denied any wrongdoing.
0:29 Our royal correspondent Daniela Lar is
0:35 >> Landing in Italy, escaping the pressures
0:38 at home for a state visit to the Vatican
0:40 Buckingham Palace has described as
0:43 historic and hugely significant.
0:45 On this trip, the king and pope will
0:48 pray together in the cyine chapel. The
0:50 first time a monarch and pontiff have
0:53 done that in around 500 years.
0:55 It will be a powerful moment of
0:58 religious unity in a week when family
1:04 >> Together at St. James's Palace this
1:07 week, the king and prime minister on
1:10 duty promoting British interests. But
1:12 lurking in the background, questions
1:14 around the Prince Andrew problem just intensify.
1:15 intensify.
1:17 His 30 room mansion in Windsor Great
1:21 Park at the heart of political scrutiny.
1:23 >> Mr. Speaker, given the revelations about
1:25 Royal Lodge, does the prime minister
1:27 agree that this house needs to properly
1:30 scrutinize the crown estate to ensure
1:33 taxpayers interests are protected? The
1:35 chancellor herself has said that the
1:37 current arrangements are wrong. So, will
1:39 the prime minister support a select
1:42 committee inquiry so all those involved
1:45 can be called for evidence, including
1:47 the current occupant?
1:48 Prime Minister.
1:51 >> Well, it's important in relation to um
1:53 all properties, crown properties, that
1:55 there is proper scrutiny. I certainly
1:56 support that.
1:58 >> Prince Andrew's lease for Royal Lodge
2:02 was frontloaded. In 2003, he paid a
2:04 million pounds to move into the property
2:07 and then 7.5 million to do renovations
2:10 required under the lease.
2:12 The money up front meant in effect he
2:15 pays no rent. Where Prince Andrew
2:18 sourced that level of cash is unclear.
2:20 Buckingham Palace said he now receives
2:22 no money from the royal family from any source.
2:25 source.
2:27 But for the next 24 hours, the focus
2:29 will shift to Vatican City. And for
2:32 those attending events, this is a timely
2:34 state visit for the king.
2:37 >> Well, I think in the essence of prayer,
2:39 we bring before God our weakness and
2:42 troubles. And I have no doubt at all
2:45 that family difficulties will be in the
2:49 heart of both the pope and the king as
2:51 they as he were place themselves before
2:54 God and ask for grace and strength to
2:56 live through all the difficulties that
2:58 we all have in life.
3:00 >> These are far from perfect circumstances
3:03 in which to start a trip of this kind.
3:05 But Buckingham Palace hope its message
3:08 of unity and faith will make an impact.
3:12 Daniela Ralph, BBC News.
3:14 >> Well, let's show you the live scene
3:17 looking out at the Vatican as King
3:21 Charles prepares to arrive there for his
3:23 meeting with Pope Leo. Well, let's speak
3:25 to our correspondent Mark Lohan who is
3:35 >> Hi, Rajie. Yes, good morning. uh on a
3:38 really symbolic historic day here at the
3:41 Vatican. It was it back in 1534 that
3:45 King Henry VIII broke with uh Rome and
3:47 set England on the path to
3:48 Protestantism, created the Church of
3:50 England. And then for many centuries
3:52 there was real mistrust between the
3:54 Church of England and the Catholic
3:56 Church. In recent decades, uh there has
3:59 been a warming of relations between the
4:02 two wings of Christianity. And yet today
4:04 will be that really that the climax of
4:06 that kind of unity and and
4:08 reconciliation as King Charles III
4:11 becomes the first British monarch uh in
4:14 five centuries to pray alongside a
4:16 Catholic pope, Pope Leo I 14th inside
4:18 the Systeine Chapel uh just behind me
4:21 there in the splenders of Vatican City.
4:23 And uh they will pray beneath the
4:25 frescos of Michelangelo in the Systeine
4:27 Chapel where Pope Leo himself was
4:30 elected pontiff back in May. and prayer
4:33 is often a very private moment. Uh so in
4:35 the fact that it will be filmed by
4:37 Vatican TV in itself is unusual and yet
4:39 on top of that you've got this extreme
4:42 extremely important symbolism of the two
4:45 faiths coming together. Uh now what
4:46 we're expecting this morning is before
4:48 that prayer uh King Charles and Queen
4:50 Camila will arrive. They will meet uh
4:52 Pope Leo. It'll be their first meeting.
4:53 First meeting of course of two heads of
4:55 state because the pope is also head of
4:56 state of the world's smallest
4:59 independent state, the Vatican. Uh then
5:01 uh Queen Camila will be given a tour of
5:03 a of a of a chapel called the Pauline
5:05 Chapel. Um and then they will go into
5:07 the Systeine Chapel for that moment of
5:08 prayer and then later on in the
5:11 afternoon Rajini another symbolic moment
5:13 as the king and queen are taken by the
5:16 pope to the basilica of St. Paul outside
5:19 the walls outside uh the Vatican where
5:21 the king will be given a special seat
5:23 engraved with his coat of arms and
5:26 conferred with a title of royal confrater
5:29 confrater
5:31 signifying the kind of unity and and
5:33 confraternity once again between the two
5:36 churches. Uh the English church
5:38 traditionally was involved in the upkeep
5:40 of the tomb of St. hall in that basilica
5:42 and that seat can be used by King
5:45 Charles and his successors in decades
5:48 and centuries to come. So uh the both
5:50 Buckingham Palace and the papacy very
5:53 very keen to emphasize the symbolism of
5:54 today but as you heard there in
5:57 Daniela's report of course looming large
5:59 in the background to all of this back in
6:01 the UK is the deepening scandal over
6:04 Prince Andrew and Buckingham Palace very
6:06 much very much hoping that the that the
6:08 importance and symbolism of today is not
6:10 overshadowed by that.
6:12 >> Indeed Mark lo in the Vatican. Thank you
