Kate Middleton and Prince William are set for a royal visit to Italy in the spring – and could meet Pope Francis at the Vatican

The Prince and Princess of Wales will make a high-profile visit to Rome this spring as part of a European charm offensive.

It will be Kate’s first work trip abroad in more than a year, and the couple’s first to Italy.

Although Kensington Palace has not officially announced the trip, the Mail can reveal that talks are underway at the highest level and a date has been ‘set in’.

It is not yet clear whether the short visit will also include a meeting with Pope Francis in the Vatican.

The charm offensive marks the couple’s inaugural journey on behalf of the government as the new Princess and Princess of Wales.

This is because although they traveled to Boston in the US this time last year, the trip was for Prince William’s Earthshot Prize, a personal initiative.

It is understood that negotiations surrounding the couple’s meeting with Pope Francis are still “very high on the table” and that “nothing has been decided yet.”

King Charles and Queen Camilla have visited Rome twice in recent years and during both visits they made a point of meeting the leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI in 2009 and Pope Francis in 2017.

But Pope Francis, 87, is in poorer health and canceled a trip to the COP28 climate conference in Dubai at the last minute last month.

A source said a possible meeting still needs to be discussed at embassy level. Kensington Palace would not comment directly on the trip to Rome, but a spokesperson said: “We look forward to announcing the Prince and Princess’ travel plans in due course.”

The royal couple could spend time in Vatican City to meet the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis

Bye! The Princess of Wales spent part of her gap year in Florence and is said to have a reasonable command of the Italian language

It comes after their last official government trip – to the Caribbean in March 2022 – was beset by a host of PR problems.

Villagers in Belize used the visit to protest indigenous land issues, while in Jamaica there were republican demonstrations and uncomfortable questions about whether the tour had too much of a ‘colonial’ tone. Italy will look very different.

There is still great interest in the British Royal Family in the country and the popularity of the late Princess Diana continues.

As one of the world’s fashion meccas, it’s also likely that a visit from the stylish Princess of Wales would be very welcome.

The late Princess Diana, pictured with then-Prince Charles, in Florence in 1985. Diana’s popularity has endured in the European country, and it is thought that Kate and William’s visit will strengthen relations between the two countries.

Members of the Royal Family undertake foreign trips at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and are intended to promote diplomatic, trade and cultural ties between Britain and the host country.

The princess probably speaks some Italian while she was in Florence during her gap year.

After leaving Marlborough College in 2000 at the age of 18, she lived and studied in the city with four friends.

Then just Kate Middleton, she studied at the British Institute of Florence at Palazzo dello Strozzino, where she focused on Italian and art history.

She then enrolled at the University of St. Andrews in Fife, Scotland, to study art history.