King Charles arrives in Rome for historic meeting with the Pope as the Prince Andrew problem threatens to overshadow the visit

King Charles and Queen Camilla have arrived in Rome ahead of the monarch's historic meeting with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican.

The visit is hoped to give the King a brief respite from growing calls to formally strip Prince Andrew of his dukedom and evict him from the Royal Lodge, an issue that is threatening to overshadow the tour.

There is mounting anger over Prince Andrew's ties to the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, with scrutiny on the royal intensifying following the publication of a posthumous memoir by Virginia Giuffre, who accused the royal of sexual abuse – accusations he has aways denied.

On Friday, Buckingham Palace took action with a brief statement from the prince.

In that statement, Prince Andrew said he was voluntarily relinquishing the use of his royal titles, including Duke of York, Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh. Andrew also gave up his membership of the prestigious Order of the Garter.

The decision was made, Andrew said, because of the "continued accusations about me".

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Pressure had come from King Charles, it is understood, and the Prince of Wales, who gave his uncle a frosty reception when Andrew tried to engage him in conversation after the Duchess of Kent's funeral recently.

Overnight, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer threw his support behind an inquiry into the threw his support, a sprawling 40-hectare estate in the heart of Windsor Great Park.

It follows revelations Prince Andrew had not paid rent on the property for two decades.

King Charles touched down in Rome's Ciampino 31st Wing Airport on Wednesday evening with Queen Camilla by his side.

On Thursday, Charles will become the first reigning British monarch to pray with a pontiff since the Reformation, when King Henry VIII broke from the Catholic Church.

The King and Queen first meet Pope Leo inside his official residence, the Apostolic Palace, before joining him for a service in the Sistine Chapel.

After the joint prayer, the King and Queen will attend a service at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. A seat has been created there for Charles, which will remain at the church for use by his successors.

The visit is being seen as a significant moment for King Charles as Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

In April, the King and Queen travelled to the Vatican where they met Pope Francis just weeks before his death. They had been due to carry out a state visit to the Vatican, as part of their short tour of Italy, but it was postponed.

The palace is hoping the King and Queen's state visit to the Vatican will take the focus away from Prince Andrew, who has dominated the news cycle since Friday.

It is understood the monarch wanted to stop his brother from using his royal titles before the publication of Giuffre's book on Tuesday and to stop the constant stream of negative headlines.

The visit to the Vatican, in particular, had been of concern to the palace, according to the BBC, with the Andrew issue threatening to overshadow the work of the King and his family.

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