expect a high-profile Roman Catholic presence in Westminster Abbey , '' where he will be crowned , Wilson argued . `` The combined heads of state come from everywhere . Every democratically elected head of state will be invited . It bigs up your coronation if you can get the highest Roman Catholic to come . '' The meeting between prince and pope came days after the 500th anniversary of the crowning of Henry VIII , the English king who broke with the Roman Catholic Church and established the Church of England because he wanted to divorce . It was Prince Charles 's first visit to the Vatican since he went to the funeral of Pope John Paul II four years ago , and his first meeting with a head of the Roman Catholic Church since 1985 . There are multiple factors complicating his relationship with the Vatican , Wilson pointed out . Not only is he divorced , which the Roman Catholic Church disapproves of , but so is Camilla -- and her children are being raised as Catholics because their father is one . A centuries-old British law forbids Catholics or their spouses from holding the throne .
LONDON , England -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Prince Charles visited the Vatican on Monday for his first meeting with a pope since his 1996 divorce from Princess Diana . Pope Benedict XVI is flanked by Prince Charles and his wife Camilla during their meeting at the Vatican . The heir to the UK throne was accompanied by his second wife , Camilla , the Duchess of Cornwall , who wore the mandatory modest black dress and veil which the Vatican requires for wives of dignitaries who meet the pope . The 20-minute meeting was `` cordial , '' the Vatican said in a statement afterwards . Prince Charles 's accession to the throne was likely to be an unspoken subtext of the meeting , an expert on the prince told CNN . `` The biggest thing on Prince Charles 's agenda is the preparation for his coronation , '' said Christopher Wilson , author of `` The Windsor Knot : Charles , Camilla and the Legacy of Diana . '' Charles would like the pope to attend personally , unlikely as that may be , given the religious divide between London and Rome , Wilson said . `` He will