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Britain's Queen Elizabeth II meets with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Thursday, April 3. Over the years, she has also met many of his papal predecessors.
The Queen, accompanied by her husband, Prince Philip, exchanges gifts with Pope Benedict XVI in Edinburgh, Scotland, in September 2010.
The Queen shakes hands with Pope John Paul II at the Pope's private office in October 2000.
Pope John Paul II walks with the Queen at London's Buckingham Palace in May 1982.
The Queen and Prince Philip meet Pope John Paul ll for the first time in October 1980.
The Queen and Prince Philip are pictured with Pope John XXIII at the Vatican in 1961.
The Queen, then as Princess Elizabeth, poses for a group photo with her entourage, Vatican knights and Swiss Guards following a talk with Pope Pius XII in April 1951.
- NEW: Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip have a private audience with Pope Francis
- NEW: Pope Francis is the fifth pontiff whom Queen Elizabeth has met
- The British royals were invited to Italy by President Giorgio Napolitano
- They had lunch with Napolitano before heading to the Vatican
(CNN) -- Two of the world's best-known public figures, Pope Francis and Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, met for the first time Thursday in Rome.
The Queen, accompanied by husband Prince Philip, is paying a one-day visit to Italy at the invitation of Italian President Giorgio Napolitano.
She and the Duke of Edinburgh attended a lunch hosted by Napolitano, whose role as head of state is largely symbolic, at the presidential palace before heading to Vatican City.
The private audience with Pope Francis was the first meeting between the 87-year-old queen, who is Supreme Governor of the Church of England, and Pope Francis, head of the Roman Catholic Church.
Queen and Pope keep agenda private
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II meets Pope Francis for the first time on Thursday, April 3, at the Vatican.
The Queen is welcomed by Archbishop Francesco Canalini at the Ciampino airport near Rome on April 3.
For her visit to Italy, the Queen was accompanied by her husband, Prince Phillip, left. They were greeted by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano and his wife, Clio, at the presidential palace in Rome.
The Queen talks with Pope Francis at the Vatican. The Queen was originally due to travel to Italy last year, but the visit was postponed because of illness.
The Queen and Prince Philip talk with Pope Francis.
Pope Francis walks past Swiss Guards after the meeting.
The Queen waves goodbye through an airplane window at Ciampino airport.
Queen Elizabeth II meets Pope Francis
Queen Elizabeth II meets Pope Francis
Queen Elizabeth II meets Pope Francis
Queen Elizabeth II meets Pope Francis
Queen Elizabeth II meets Pope Francis
Queen Elizabeth II meets Pope Francis
Queen Elizabeth II meets Pope Francis
Queen Elizabeth II meets Pope Francis
But she has met some of his papal predecessors.
According to Vatican Radio, Thursday's audience marked the queen's seventh encounter with a pontiff and the fifth different pope she has met. Besides trips to Rome, she also welcomed Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI, now Pope Emeritus, on their respective visits to Britain.
Her first papal encounter was with Pope Pius in 1951, the year before she ascended the throne, the broadcaster said.
The Queen's latest visit to Italy, at the invitation of Napolitano, was initially planned last year but was postponed because of illness.
Britain's ambassador to the Holy See, Nigel Baker, told Vatican Radio the Queen had decided to take advantage of the rescheduled trip to meet Pope Francis.
"If you look back in terms of Queen Elizabeth's reign, it is extraordinary how far the relationship between Britain and the Holy See, and between the Anglican Church and the Catholic Church, has developed since 1952 when she became queen," he said.
A key aspect of that has been her several encounters with different popes over the years, Baker said.
Francis, who's from Argentina, was elected pope in March of last year after Benedict took the almost unprecedented step of resigning from the papacy.
Britain and Argentina have a sometimes testy relationship, thanks to an unresolved dispute over the Falkland Islands. The two countries went to war over the South Atlantic territory in 1982 after the then-military government in Argentina landed troops on the islands, which Argentinians call Las Malvinas.
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CNN's Richard Allen Greene contributed to this report.
