Flashback: State Visit to Italy, Papal Audience, 2000

Buckingham Palace announced the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will take a one day trip to Rome in April of this year, including an audience with Pope Francis. Her last visit to Vatican City came in October 2000, during a state visit to Italy, when she and the Duke visited Pope John Paul II.

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On that occasion, the Queen complied with Vatican protocol and wore all black, attaching a veil to her hat. She also added some extra gem power to her standard day look with a larger triple strand of pearls, the Ladies of Devonshire Earrings, the Richmond Brooch, Queen Mary's Pearl and Diamond Floral Bracelet, and her Black Strap Watch.

According to reports about the upcoming visit, it will be an informal one; the Queen is not expected to wear black or a mantilla/veil. Past visits to Vatican City were even more formal than the appearance in 2000, and you can look for those in upcoming flashbacks!

In current events... The Queen and the Duke went to church at Sandringham one last time before heading back to London this week. She wore the Flame Lily Brooch, a particularly appropriate choice since she recently marked the date of her accession, and that was the brooch she wore when returning home for the first time after her father's death.

Updated... On Monday, the Queen dug out the Grima Ruby Brooch and returned to London by train.

Photos: AP/ITN