Image source, Reuters

Let's recap on what we have seen so far today as King Charles and the Queen visit the Vatican for a swift state visit.

• The King and Queen arrived at the Vatican this morning, greeted by a short ceremony where the Swiss Guards played the UK national anthem
• After heading inside, the royals met with Pope Leo XIV. Gifts were exchanged, with the King offering a photograph and icon of St Edward the Confessor with the Pope giving a mosaic of Christ Pantocrator in exchange
• Then it was to the Sistine Chapel, where prayers were read. Beginning with the Lord's Prayer, the ceremony marked the first time the head of the Church of England prayed publicly with a Pope
• Following the prayers, the King and Pope held a short sustainability meeting, where they spoke with representatives from climate organisations
• The King is now on his away to his next engagement at St Paul's Outside the Walls, where he will see the chair created for his visit

Stay with us and we'll continue to bring you live coverage of the whistle-stop royal visit.

Sean Coughlan
Royal correspondent, reporting from the Vatican

Image source, Reuters

We’re now getting a view of more of the Vatican, the city of which the Pope is the head of state.

Behind St Peter’s, and it’s unusual to see that famous church from the back, there’s Vatican City railway station, the only stop on the world’s smallest national railway.

While we’re parked up we see the King’s State Bentley gliding off to the next engagement on this whistle-stop state visit.

Image source, Getty Images

As we've reported, Pope Leo and the royals exchanged gifts to mark today's historic occasion - here's a closer look at them.

The King presented the Pope with a large silver photograph and icon of St Edward the Confessor - an Anglo-Saxon king of England who was known as being a man of great prayer.

In return, the Pope gave the King a scale version of a mosaic 'Christ Pantocrator' from a cathedral in Sicily, which has been made in the Vatican.

During a sustainability meeting, the pair will exchanged gifts of trees to be planted as part of efforts to support the natural world.

Prior to the service in the Sistine Chapel, the King and Queen had a private audience with the Pope. They then split up for different activities.

Here are some of those images below.

Image source, VaticanMedia/PA

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, VaticanMedia/ PA Media

Sean Coughlan
Royal correspondent, reporting from the Vatican

There's a beautiful piece of music by Thomas Tallis sung in the Sistine Chapel service.

He was a Catholic composer who lived through the often violent religious conflicts of the 16th Century, as the Church of England split from the Catholic church.

All these centuries later, Tallis might have been pleased to finally see this moment of unity and togetherness.

Image source, Vatican Media

The service comes to an end with a prayer read by Pope Leo XIV.

"God our father, you have created the heavens and Earth," he reads.

The King and Pope now make their way out of the Sistine Chapel, where the Queen will remain to meet the choirs.

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper now stands for a reading.

She's reading a Bible verse from a Letter to the Romans, written by St Paul.

The King and Queen will visit his tomb in the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls later this afternoon.

Sean Coughlan
Royal correspondent, reporting from the Vatican

Image source, AFP

The King is an enthusiast of harmony and the choirs are providing a suitable musical accompaniment for this historic gathering, with the head of the Catholic church and the head of the Church of England sharing a joint religious service.

Blending their voices are the Choir of His Majesty’s Chapel Royal, the Choir of St George’s Chapel and the Sistine Chapel Choir.

We're seeing more pictures from the prayers between King Charles III and Pope Leo.

As a reminder, you can watch the service by pressing Watch live above.

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

Aleem Maqbool
Religion editor

Image source, VaticanMedia

The symbolism of a Pope and King praying together nearly 500 years after the Church of England’s split from Rome is striking.

So too is the gesture of recognising the role Anglo-Saxon rulers played in the upkeep of the beautiful Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls.

But of course the relationship between the Church of which the King is supreme governor and the Vatican had already come a very long way since 1534.

The two Churches work together on numerous global projects and issues.

The late Pope Francis and former Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby even travelled together to South Sudan to try to encourage peace.

As a prince, with a profound interest in faith, King Charles has visited Popes at the Vatican before.

Pope Francis in return was known to have a great deal of respect for the late Queen Elizabeth.

So while the images from the Vatican today will be historic, the groundwork for these moments has been laid over decades and indeed centuries of coming together.

Image source, AFP

The historic prayers - the first between an Anglican King and a pope - begins with the Lord's Prayer.

The prayer is said in English.

Image source, AFP

The King and Queen are taking their seats in the Sistine Chapel ahead of the upcoming prayers.

They seem to be in deep conversation as the historic moment approaches.

Image source, VaticanMedia

Image source, AFP

King Charles III and the Queen have arrived at the Sistine Chapel ahead of prayers with Pope Leo.

Press Watch live at the top of this page to follow along with the latest from inside the chapel.

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

Sean Coughlan
Royal correspondent, reporting from the Vatican

Image source, Reuters

As King Charles and Pope Leo met inside the Vatican, the King said about the cameras recording the historic event, they were a "constant hazard".

Pope Leo said "you get used to it", as he's had to become accustomed to being such a public figure.

Sean Coughlan
Royal correspondent, reporting from the Vatican

Image source, VaticanMedia/Reuters

There are gifts being exchanged as part of this morning's meeting between Pope Leo and King Charles, which is taking place inside the Vatican at the moment.

The King is giving the Pope an icon of St Edward the Confessor. The King is known to be very interested in icons, often associated with the Orthodox Church.

Edward the Confessor was a devout 11th Century King of England.

The King described the gift as a "small token" as he gave it to the Pope.

In return, Pope Leo is giving the King a scale version of a mosaic showing an image of Christ that's in a Norman cathedral in Cefalu, in Sicily.

Image source, Vatican News

Cardinals are assembling inside the Sistine Chapel ahead of prayers between King Charles III and Pope Leo.

Seats are filling up in the grand building, as Cardinals in a mix of colourful outfits are deep in conversation in the moments before the historic prayers.

Taking its name from Pope Sixtus IV, the Sistine Chapel is is the site of the Papal Conclave for the election of new a new Pope, the most recent of which took place in May of this year.

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

The King and Queen sit opposite Pope Leo in the first meeting between the monarch and the American pope.

They will soon be holding prayers together - the first time an Anglican King has prayed with a pope - stay with us for the latest updates.

As a reminder, you can following along by clicking Watch live at the top of the page.

Image source, Vatican Media/Reuters

Image source, Vatican Media/Reuters

We're now seeing the first pictures of King Charles meeting Pope Leo.

In the latest picture, the King and Queen can be seen standing on either side of the American pope.

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Image source, Reuters