The Queen wore a white and beige coat dress by Anna Valentine and a Lily of the Valley brooch that once belonged to the Queen Mother. The flower symbolises love and is often included in royal wedding bouquets.
In a message on social media signed ‘Charles R & Camilla R’, the couple said: “As we begin our first visit to Italy as King and Queen, we are so looking forward to celebrating our twentieth wedding anniversary in such a special place — and with such wonderful people!
“A presto, Roma e Ravenna!”
Earlier in the day, the ambassador said he hoped the trip would create “memories that will last a generation” and strengthen UK-Italian relations via a shared love of “culture, food, heritage” and ties that “resonate very, very deeply”.
Charles and Camilla are making their first state visit to the country since the Coronation. The King will become the first British monarch to address both houses of Italy’s Parliament.
The visit will be celebrated by a joint military flypast including the Red Arrows, and the King will hold meetings with the country’s President and Prime Minister.
Unusually for a royal overseas visit in recent years, there are no planned protests by republicans or campaigners.
Recent trips to the Commonwealth have regularly included calls for Britain to apologise for its colonial past or been disrupted by republican campaigners or those wanting to make public points about causes including Gaza.
A newspaper said the “fever” was growing for the arrival of the English royals in Ravenna.
The route from the airport to the centre of Rome includes a balcony where residents have placed large cardboard cutouts of the King and Queen.
The King and Queen earlier today, flying on a British Government jet, accompanied by two F-35s from the Italian air force as they came in to land at Rome’s Ciampino 31st Wing Airport.
The arrival saw them greeted by a guard of honour and formally welcomed on the red carpet by British and Italian representatives, including David Lammy, the foreign secretary.
The Queen, wearing a dark blue Fiona Clare dress, said she was “delighted” to be in Italy.
The King and Queen will spend four days in Rome and Ravenna, with a programme including a “slow food” event, a visit to Dante’s tomb and the Byron museum.
They will spend their 20th wedding anniversary at a state banquet, surrounded by 150 guests who will toast them.
There are “no plans” to visit the Pope, who is recovering from a serious illness. A day-long state visit to the Holy See, including an audience with the Pope, has been postponed.
The King is said to be “raring to go” after a health scare in which he was hospitalised briefly with the side effects of cancer treatment.
Aides have spread the remainder of the engagements, originally planned over two days, to spread across three for a slightly lighter schedule.
The King will hold audiences with Sergio Mattarella, the President, and Giorgia Meloni, the Prime Minister.
The UK and Italy’s defence co-operation will be marked by a joint flypast over Rome by the Italian Air Force’s aerobatic team, Frecce Tricolori, and the RAF’s Red Arrows.
In Ravenna, near Bologna, Charles and Camilla will mark the 80th anniversary of the province’s liberation from Nazi occupation by allied forces, on April 10 1945, during a town hall reception.
They will celebrate literary culture by visiting Dante’s tomb and the Queen will make a solo trip to the Byron museum.
Lord Llewellyn of Steep, British Ambassador to Italy, said today: “Their Majesties will do something intangible but priceless.
“Their visit will strengthen the closeness between our nations in a way that only they can, creating memories that will last a generation.
“Their love for Italy and all things Italian, the things Italians cherish — culture, food, heritage — resonate very, very deeply.
“So a lot to look forward to in the next few days. The state visit that brings together, quite simply, the best of Italy and the best of Britain, the closest of friends, allies and partners.”
The visit to Rome and Ravenna will be the King’s 18th official trip to Italy and his first state visit as monarch.
Lord Llewellyn added that such was the excitement about the visit that staff in his local pizzeria had been asking about it every time he went in.
