The King has warned peace is “never to be taken for granted” during a historic address to Italy’s parliament as the Queen dressed in celebration of their 20th wedding anniversary.
Charles also paid tribute to the close ties between the two nations and said “Italy will always be in my heart” with Camilla sitting a few metres away wearing her wedding dress decorated with added embroidery.
He made history by becoming the first British monarch to address both houses of Italy’s parliament and, after mentioning the Second World War, said: “Today, sadly, the echoes of those times, which we fervently hope had been consigned to history, reverberate across our continent.
“Our younger generations can see in the news every day on their smartphones and tablets that peace is never to be taken for granted.”
The King, who is making a four-day state visit to Italy with his wife, told the politicians in the Chamber of Deputies in Rome: “Britain and Italy stand today united in defence of the democratic values we share.”
Charles, who recently had a brief stay in hospital after temporary side-effects from his cancer treatment, told the gathered politicians about the aim of the state visit.
“So I am here today with one purpose: to reaffirm the deep friendship between the United Kingdom and Italy, and to pledge to do all in my power to strengthen that friendship even further in the time that is granted to me as King,” he said.
He spoke about Italy’s impact on the UK and highlighted the European ties between the two Nato allies.
Charles told the audience: “We have benefitted hugely from your influence over what we wear, what we drink and what we eat.”
He made them laugh when he added: “I can only hope you will forgive us for occasionally corrupting your wonderful cuisine. We do so with the greatest possible affection.
“So we are two peoples, and two nations, whose stories are deeply intertwined – including, of course, with that of our European continent.
“We are both, after all, European countries.”
There have been reports that the King will have to tone down his support for net-zero commitments after opposition leader Kemi Badenoch said it would be “impossible” for the UK to meet its target by 2050.
But Charles spoke passionately about threats facing the planet, highlighting a speech he gave in Italy 16 years ago and how the “warnings” he made then about the “urgency of the climate challenge” were “depressingly being borne out by events”.
He said extreme storms “normally seen once in a generation” are now an issue every year, and “countless precious plant and animal species face extinction in our lifetimes”.
Sections of the speech were delivered in Italian, and in a lighter moment the King referenced his wedding anniversary, telling the politicians from the chamber of deputies and the senate of the republic in their own language: “The timing is all the more special to us both since today also marks our 20th wedding anniversary.
“And by the way, I hope I’m not ruining Dante’s language so much that I’m no never invited to Italy again.”
President Sergio Matarella also delivered an address and did not mention US leader Donald Trump by name but warned about multiple crises affecting the globe.
He said: “Our world is very complex, it is continually evolving and changing as we can easily see at the moment, and there is tension, there are conflicts, disruption of our traditional order.
“We see this on a daily basis and it’s important to enhance the solidity of the very special relations between our peoples and our nations.
“We must strengthen our bilateral co-operation at all levels.”
Later the King and Queen attended a state banquet in their honour at the president’s official residence the Quirinale Palace in Rome.
Among the guests were celebrity chef Giorgio Locatelli and tenor Andrea Bocelli along with a host of Italian Government ministers.
When Charles and Camilla arrived they were deluged by the flashes of waiting photographers, and around the King’s neck was his Order of Merit insignia and he also wore the Italian Order of Merit star while the Queen wore a green lace gown by Fiona Clare.
