King Charles and Queen Camilla Leave London Ahead of Prince Harry's Rare Visit – Here's Why

Before the Duke of Sussex's visit to London because of a decision made by the British government, the King and Queen of England traveled to Italy for a specific reason.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla began a four-day state visit to Italy yesterday, April 7, 2025, aimed at celebrating and strengthening the longstanding relationship between the United Kingdom and Italy. This comes amid Prince Harry's arrival in London to contest a matter regarding his security.

During their state visit, the royal couple made appearances in both Rome and the city of Ravenna, using the soft power of monarchy to reinforce diplomatic ties and cultural connections between the two nations.

While the trip was initially set to include a formal state visit to the Holy See, that portion of the itinerary has been canceled. Pope Francis is currently recovering after being released from the hospital, where he received treatment for double pneumonia.

With the Vatican events withdrawn from the schedule, the royal delegation has shifted its focus to other parts of the Italian capital.

To accommodate the changes, remaining engagements in Rome have been reorganized and extended across two days, with extra elements added to some appearances.

Charles and Camilla have taken to Instagram to share moments from their trip so far, including endearing photos of the two of them surrounded by picturesque florals and architecture. They also shared a video showing their visit to see President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale.

Accompanying the vibrant photos showing Charles and his beloved is a caption that reads, "As we begin our first visit to Italy as King and Queen, we are so looking forward to celebrating our twentieth wedding anniversary in such a special place – and with such wonderful people! A presto, Roma e Ravenna! -Charles R & Camilla R."

The royal couple's trip to Italy precedes Harry's arrival in the U.K., where he appeared in a London courtroom today (Tuesday, April 8).

He formally contested a decision made by the British government to reduce the level of publicly funded security provided to him during visits to the United Kingdom. According to BBC, each time the Duke of Sussex travels to England, his security needs are assessed on a case-by-case basis to determine just how much protection he will need while in the U.K.

Although Prince Harry, reportedly, has expressed his willingness to pay for police protection, the committee in charge of deciding the kind of security royals receive says that that is not allowed. As put by BBC reporter Charlotte Gallagher, "The funds either come centrally, or not at all."

Additionally, his recent appeal is the latest move in a string of stages of a case that has been ongoing for approximately more than three years. A judicial review application was filed back in September 2021, and since then, Harry has been free to challenge the Home Office, which turned out to ultimately be unsuccessful.

He then tried to appeal the judge's ruling, which failed. However, in May 2024, he was finally granted permission to state his case in the Court of Appeal, which brings us to where things stand today.