4 April 2014 - Queen meets Pope Francis
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Queen meets Pope Francis at the Vatican
Staff (BBC)
Arriving at the Vatican, the Queen shook hands with the Pope and said "Sorry to keep you waiting, we were having lunch with the president."
The Queen and Prince Philip later had tea with the Pope in a suite of rooms in the Pope Paul VI Audience Hall, close to the Casa Santa Marta, the guest house in the Vatican where the Pope has chosen to live.
It is her third visit to the Vatican during her reign but the first time she has met Pope Francis, who was installed just over a year ago.
In a break with Vatican convention, the Queen did not wear black, or a veil, but instead wore a lilac-coloured spring coat and matching hat
Read on...
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Royal gifts
Lizzy Davies (The Guardian)
What do you give the pope who wants for nothing? Who rejects materialism, lives in a guesthouse and likes to be driven in second-hand cars? Twelve eggs and some honey, that's what – and, if you're feeling daring, a bottle of whisky as well.
Of course, these weren't just any eggs – they were the produce of Windsor's finest – and the honey, Pope Francis was given to understand, was "from my garden", the garden, that is, of Buckingham Palace.
"I hope that will be unusual for you," said the Queen, who was meeting the Argentinian pontiff for the first time in a whistle-stop visit to Rome, her first overseas trip for more than two years.
Rather more unusual, perhaps, was the bottle of Balmoral whisky which the Duke of Edinburgh pointed out – apparently to Francis's slight surprise – among the hamper of British produce from the royal estates. Perhaps they were on safer ground with the Cox's apple juice (Sandringham), strawberry jam (Balmoral) or even Coronation Best Bitter (Windsor).
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Papal gifts
Vicky Smith (The Mirror)
The Pope presented the Queen with a priceless gift for Prince George at the Vatican today, although even Her Majesty admitted he is too young to enjoy the elaborate ornament.
The orb made from lapis lazuli semi-precious stone featuring a silver cross of St Edward the Confessor was given to Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh to pass on to her heir.
This was accompanied by a manuscript dating back to 1679 proclaiming the saint day of Edward the Confessor.
The Pope explained "it's for the little boy" as he handed the gifts over.
Even the Queen had to admit it was not an age appropriate present for her eight-month-old great-grandson, saying: "He will be thrilled with that... When he's a little older."
The ornament - made especially for the occasion - featured an inscription saying: "From Pope Francis to Prince George of Cambridge."
By contrast, Prince Philip, 92, was delighted with his gift from the Pope - three gold medals bearing the Pontiff's face.
He joked: "That's very kind of you, that's the only gold medal I have ever won."
Read on...
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US vantage point
Maria Puente (USA Today)
Queen Elizabeth II met Pope Francis for the first time at the Vatican today, in her fifth meeting with a pontiff in the Holy See and one of the last foreign trips for the soon-to-be 88-year-old monarch.
Queen Elizabeth II meets Pope Francis
And, in a gesture sure to be appreciated in the United Kingdom, he presented her with a gift for her baby great-grandson and heir, Prince George: a lapis lazuli stone orb topped with a silver Maltese cross.
Accompanied by her husband, Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh, who will be 93 in June, the head of state of the country that defeated the Argentine pope's native country in the Falklands War in 1982 paid a private call on the pontiff in a 30-minute meeting in the papal study.
She arrived in Rome today (her first visit to the city in 14 years) wearing a lilac-colored spring coat and matching hat, almost the same colors as the wisteria blooming over much of the Italian capital, reported the Associated Press. They were greeted with the usual pomp and colorful ceremony; the Vatican is as skilled as the British at this sort of thing.
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"4 April 2014 - Queen meets Pope Francis", La Clé des Langues [en ligne], Lyon, ENS de LYON/DGESCO (ISSN 2107-7029), avril 2014. Consulté le 25/04/2024. URL: https://cle.ens-lyon.fr/anglais/key-story/archives-revue-de-presse-2014/4-april-2014-queen-meets-pope-francis