25th July 2020
Image ©Aliona Adrianova During my first meeting with Foreign Office Permanent Under-Secretary Sir Simon McDonald in March 2019, when we discussed ideas for the portrait of The Queen that he wanted to commission, I was delighted to hear that he wanted it to feel intimate. He wanted to express Her Majesty’s humanity, rather than creating […]
23rd November 2015
Last week, I presided over a small ceremony at my Residence to present, on behalf of The Queen, the British Empire Medal to my colleague at the embassy, Helen Beggs Frigieri. The medal was awarded for services to relations between the United Kingdom and the Holy See. I was very pleased that Holy See officials […]
9th September 2015
This blog needs no other title. We all know who we mean when we speak of The Queen. And there is plenty of information around the web at the moment (the BBC, for example, has many fascinating details about Her Majesty’s reign on its website). At 63 years seven months and counting, The Queen this […]
21st April 2015
The Holy See’s decision to take part in the Venice Biennale, after its inaugural participation in 2013, reminds us of the extraordinary role played by the Popes in the history and production of art. For much of its history, the Holy See was an undoubted centre of connoisseurship, patronage and artistic endeavour. It is impossible […]
5th May 2014
‘A nation that forgets its past has no future.’ Churchill’s words are still relevant today. On the 18-19 May HRH Prince Harry will visit Italy to attend a number of events commemorating the Allied Campaign in Italy during WWII, focussing on the 70th anniversary of the Battles of Monte Cassino. We are honoured that HRH […]
Read more on HRH Prince Harry in Italy on 18-19 May | Reply (2)
30th April 2014
It has been an extraordinary few years for the relationship between the United Kingdom and Ireland. When Prime Minister David Cameron and Taoiseach Enda Kenny met in London in March, they commented that relations between our two countries had never been better. That’s a bold statement to make. And yet it was confirmed earlier this […]
Read more on Britain and Ireland together at the Holy See | Reply (1)
24th April 2014
It has been a busy few days at the Vatican. Easter week, with its public ceremonies and celebrations, is just behind us. This coming weekend will see the canonisation of two Popes, John XXIII and John Paul II. Pope Francis will preside, and the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, could also be present. Along with many […]
4th April 2014
Relationships matter. Yesterday I had the honour of welcoming HM The Queen to Rome for private meetings with the President of Italy Giorgio Napolitano and Pope Francis (on which Ambassador to the Holy See, Nigel Baker accompanied). I had the privilege of accompanying Her Majesty on the flight over for her fourth visit to Italy […]
Read more on The Queen meets Pres. Napolitano in Rome | Reply (1)
3rd April 2014
Back in February, I wrote about the significance of the relatively few meetings over the years between British monarchs and Popes, not least The Queen’s own encounters with four different Popes since 1951. Each in its way has served as a milestone in the development of the relationship between the United Kingdom and the Holy […]
Read more on Queen Elizabeth II meets Pope Francis | Reply (6)
5th February 2014
It is great news that The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh will meet Pope Francis at the Vatican in April this year. It will be Her Majesty’s fifth visit to the Vatican, and the seventh occasion on which The Queen has met a reigning Pope. Her Majesty of course met Popes John Paul II […]
Read more on Britain and the Holy See: The Royal Connection | Reply