During their official visit to Italy, King Charles III and Queen Camilla were welcomed with a state banquet at the Quirinale Palace that reflected the elegance of Italian tradition, paired with a touch of warm conviviality. The menu, thoughtfully curated, featured just four courses, served “à la française”: each dish was brought to the table in shared serving trays from which guests could help themselves, choosing their desired portion.
The appetizer was prepared using vegetables grown in the gardens of the presidential estate at Castelporziano, located about 25 kilometers from central Rome. This estate, nestled in nature among woods and forests, includes 750 hectares dedicated to pasture and low-impact farming.
As a first course, the royal couple and other guests were served button-shaped pasta with eggplant caponata, a clear tribute to the Sicilian origins of the President of the Republic. The main course featured a salt-crusted sea bass, accompanied by roasted potatoes, artichokes, and zucchini flowers. To end the meal, a fresh and spring-inspired dessert was served: a fiordilatte and raspberry ice cream cake, which gracefully concluded the evening.
The wines, carefully selected, paired beautifully with the dishes: King Charles, a red wine enthusiast, toasted with a Roma DOC Riserva Rosso Poggio Le Volpi 2020, while Queen Camilla, who prefers white wines, enjoyed a Lazio IGP Bianco Donnaluce 2023, also from Poggio Le Volpi. Two different labels, both proudly Italian, used to toast not only the historic ties between Italy and the United Kingdom but also the couple’s 20th wedding anniversary, celebrated in 2005.
The previous evening, on April 8, Villa Wolkonsky—residence of the British ambassador in Rome—became, for the occasion, the official home of the British royals, marking the beginning of a state visit defined by taste, culture, and the strengthening of international friendship.
