The King has joked about living “long enough” to see a tree he planted grow as he began the final day of his Italian state visit.
Charles was in a jovial mood as he gave a sapling a start in life in the gardens of Villa Wolkonsky, the UK ambassador’s residence in Rome where the King and Queen had been staying.
After performing his personal ritual of waving the spade in the air once he had shovelled soil around the roots, the King turned to British embassy staff gathered on the lawns.
He quipped: “Well I do hope that I shall live long enough to see a little bit of growth in the tree.”
As the assembled crowd clapped and cheered, Charles, who is receiving ongoing treatment for cancer, said “one more”, in reference to the sapling.
Charles then unveiled a plaque to commemorate the occasion, before pointing at the newly planted tree and saying: “Needs a bit of water.”
He spent a few minutes chatting to staff and their families, and joked: “Oh dear, is there anybody left in the office?”
Earlier, the King spent 20 minutes speaking to representatives from the Circular Bioeconomy Alliance (CBA), established by Charles, which aims to speed up the world’s transition to a nature-first circular bioeconomy.
Charles, who has spent much of his life highlighting environmental challenges, met three groups in the gardens of the villa, each representing a project related to the work of the CBA.
The first focused on “the importance of nature for human health and wellbeing” and the King asked if they had found new treatments based in nature.
He then moved on to the second group which focused on “invasive species and conservation” before heading over to meet experts in “urban forests and global change” who demonstrated scientific equipment and how it is being used to measure the impact of climate change and related risks on trees.
As he was leaving to travel to the city of Ravenna with the Queen, he thanked staff for their hospitality during their three nights at the villa: “Thank you all so much for all your help, marvellous”.
When Charles and Camilla arrived in the centre of the city of Ravenna cheers went up from the crowds who had waited patiently for more than two hours to catch a glimpse of their guests.
The King and Queen went on a meet and greet, shaking hands with well-wishers who were standing behind crash barriers.
The couple observed the Italian and British national anthems played by a local band in the Piazza San Francesco, where they were met by the acting mayor of Ravenna, Fabio Sbaraglia.
First stop on their visit was a tour of the final resting place of the famous Italian literary figure Dante.
