British Royals meet Pope on visit to Rome
The Vatican, 9 May 1923 - Pope Pius VI had a 25 minute private audience with King George V and Queen Mary in the splendid surroundings of the Vatican today.
The British Royals are currently visiting Rome and on entering the Vatican through the Gate of the Mint to the courtyard of St. Damasus, they were greeted by a company of the Palatine Guards and a detachment of the Pontifical gendarmes rendering military honours, complete with bugles and drums, the sounds from which echoed through the impressive arches and vaults of the big building.
King George V wore full military dress for the occasion while Queen Mary was attired in the regulation black dress and veil, the prescribed female fashion for meeting with the Pontiff, who met them robed fully in white. The Pope and the King exchanged portraits, and the latter introduced his English entourage.
When the audience was over, the British Royals visited the apartment of the Papal Secretary of State, Cardinal Gasparri, which is situated a floor below the Pope. The Cardinal would later attend a lunch with the King and Queen at the Petrizi Palace, which was attended by approximately thirty people. After lunch, the Royals returned to the Vatican where they were escorted on a tour of St. Peter’s.
The King and Queen pay tribute to the Italian unknown warrior (Image: Illustrated London News, 19 May 1923)
King George and Queen Mary have spent a number of days enjoying the historic splendors of the Eternal City, having previously visited the Pantheon, and placed 8 foot tall wreaths on the tombs of two Kings of United Italy, Victor Emmanuel and Humbert, as well on that of the Unknown Warrior. The King also reviewed veterans of the War of Unification, quite a number of whom were attired in the red shirt favoured by the Garibaldians.
They also visited Raphael’s tomb, which is situated beside the burial place of King Humbert, and to the Institute of Agriculture, where King George delivered a speech on the prospects for industry and in which he acknowledged the anxieties of agricultural workers arising out of the Great war upheavals and the severe fall in prices that has resulted.
British Pathé footage King George V and Queen Mary visit Rome in 1923
[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]
