Pope Leo accepts honorary title after meeting King Charles, Buckingham Palace says

Buckingham Palace says Pope Leo XIV has accepted an honorary title a year after meeting with King Charles.

The Dean and Canons of Windsor announced Leo has become Papal Confrater of the College of St George at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

Charles and the Queen met the pontiff on this day last year during a state visit to the Vatican.

The King was welcomed as Royal Confrater of the Papal Basilica and Abbey of St Paul’s Outside the Walls.

On Friday, Buckingham Palace said: “This act of confraternity represents a visible sign of spiritual fellowship, ecumenical friendship and Christian fraternity.

“It recognises both the centuries-old relationship between the College and Chapel of St George, Windsor and the Holy See, and the progress in relations between the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of England and the Anglican Communion.

“It also reflects the deep mutual esteem between His Holiness and His Majesty and their shared desire for Christian unity.”

To mark these signs of confraternity, specially commissioned chairs have been created for the two religious sites. The chair presented to the King sits next to the monastic stalls in St Paul’s Outside the Walls, and a corresponding chair for the Pope will be unveiled at St George’s Chapel in Windsor in due course.

Meanwhile, the Pope will miss a planned trip to Assisi next week as he continues recovering from thoracic surgery.

He was due to attend an event on October 27 to mark the 40th anniversary of St John Paul II’s World Day of Prayer for Peace.

The Pope’s health condition was confirmed earlier this month after the Vatican said he had undergone a “successful” planned surgery to remove the lower lobe of his right lung.

Lung adenocarcinoma is a common type of lung cancer.

Charles and Leo made history in 2025 when they prayed together in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel in a symbolic moment of unity for Anglicans and Roman Catholics across the globe.

It was the first time a British monarch, the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, had prayed at a public service with the Pope, head of the Catholic Church, since the Reformation.