Queen Elizabeth II met with five popes throughout her life, four during her 70 years as Queen of Great Britain.
British Ambassador to the Holy See, Christopher Trott, explains how the United Kingdom's relationship with the Vatican greatly changed since Elizabeth's first meeting with a pope in 1951, one year before she took the crown.
CHRISTOPHER TROTT
British Ambassador to the Holy See
And at that time, while we had an embassy to the Holy See, we didn't have an ambassador, our relationship was at the level of a deputy ambassador as as chargé a or what we called a minister. And so over the life of Queen Elizabeth, we saw the relationship go from a sort of second level, to a full ambassadorial level relationship.
The first British ambassadors sent to the Vatican since the late 16th centuries were accredited to Pope John Paul II in 1982, following his pastoral visit to Great Britain.
Almost thirty years later, Pope Benedict XVI met with the Queen in Scotland during the first state visit of a pope to the UK, an achievement the ambassador credits in part to the mutual respect of popes and the Queen founded on faith.
CHRISTOPHER TROTT
British Ambassador to the Holy See
It was always clear to British people that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was a deeply committed Christian.
I think that's something that obviously really resonates with the Holy See, and with the popes that she met, that they respected her as someone of faith, of Christian faith.
While the British monarch retains the role as the titular head of the Anglican Church, Queen Elizabeth's acceptance of all faiths was a central tenet of her reign, one which her son and heir seems poised to continue.
CHRISTOPHER TROTT
British Ambassador to the Holy See
I think it's been very powerful for people actually, of all faiths in the UK to see to see Her Majesty the Queen and now his Majesty, the King's openness to dialogue among faiths, and particularly dialogue between the Anglican Church and the Catholic Church, they've put a lot of emphasis on that.
The ambassador highlights the wide range of issues that the UK and Catholic Church collaborate on. Just last year, the British Embassy to the Holy See promoted a meeting on faith and science which brought religious leaders from around the world to the Vatican ahead of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.
JM
