ROME—Queen Elizabeth left Rome after a flying four-hour visit featuring a stop at the Presidential palace and her first meeting with Pope Francis.

 Accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, the queen arrived in Ciampino in a private jet and, welcomed by the British ambassador, Christopher Prentice, representatives of the Holy See and the head of the Diplomatic Protocol of the Italian Republic, Stefano Ronca, she immediately drove over to the Quirinal Palace, where she joined President Giorgio Napolitano and his wife Clio for lunch.

 The next appointment on the queen’s schedule was a private meeting with the pope, which, according to Vatican sources, lasted around 40 minutes, after which the British royals left Vatican City and soon after, around 4.30pm, Italy.