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‘He wanted to do things his way’

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The King and Queen will meet the new Pope during a state visit to Vatican City next month.

The couple will join Leo XIV, who was elected pope earlier this year after the death of Pope Francis, in late October to celebrate the 2025 jubilee year, Buckingham Palace said.

The Catholic Church typically marks a papal jubilee every 25 years.

Charles and Camilla‘s visit is expected to celebrate the ecumenical work by the Church of England and the Catholic Church, reflecting the Jubilee year’s theme of walking together as “Pilgrims of Hope”.

The King is Supreme Governor of the Church of England, a role which dates back to Henry VIII, who named himself Supreme Head of the Church of England after he was excommunicated by Pope Paul III and broke from the Catholic Church in the 16th century to marry Anne Boleyn.

The King and Queen had a meeting with Pope Francis just 12 days before he died.

Their historic state visit to the Vatican in early April was cancelled due to the then-pontiff’s poor health, but they managed to visit him privately during their trip to Italy.

The meeting with Francis, in what would be the final weeks of his life, was arranged at the last minute and took place on their 20th wedding anniversary on 9 April, with the pontiff wanting to personally wish them a happy anniversary.

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In an official message released following the news of Francis’s death on 21 April, the King said he and the Queen were “most deeply saddened”.

In May, Charles sent a private message to Pope Leo XIV congratulating him on his election, Buckingham Palace said.

Call handlers at the mental health helpline Samaritans are warning of a mass exodus of volunteers after the charity announced plans to close branches.

The ‘volunteer listeners’ say a shortage of people taking calls will lead to longer wait times to have them answered.

In July, Samaritans chief executive Julie Bentley said it was no longer sustainable to have so many branches.

In a video message to staff, seen by Sky News, she said: “Many of the branches we have today came into existence at a time when Samaritans was set up as a local service, providing separate local numbers. But that hasn’t been the case for some time.

“Our service today doesn’t need the number of buildings we currently have.”

Colm Martin, a volunteer listener for five years, said the announcement came “out of the blue”.

“We cannot make sense of it. This is supposed to be about improving a service and we can’t understand how closing half of all of the branches will improve the service or encourage more volunteers to come forward.”

Mr Martin says he thinks Samaritans will lose volunteers.

“Not because they want to leave, but because they’re forced out, because there isn’t a branch local to them that they can go to,” he said.

Last year, three million people called the Samaritans in need of support. Its website reads “every life lost to suicide is a tragedy”.

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About 23,000 trained volunteers work with the charity to listen and provide fast support to those experiencing suicidal thoughts as well as other mental health issues.

Ms Bentley told Sky News: “The improvements we’re proposing would mean callers getting through to Samaritans quicker while making it easier for anyone to join our amazing group of volunteers, regardless of their circumstances or busy lifestyles.

“Samaritans will continue to be there for those struggling to cope across the UK and Republic of Ireland, day and night, 365 days a year.”

Surbiton-based Angela remembers calling Samaritans for help 40 years ago when her father was dying of cancer.

“Whenever I reached out to any family member, they’d say ‘oh come on, you’re strong, you know what you’re doing. You’re a nurse’, she said.

“One night, I just reached an emotional limit. It was about two o’clock in the morning, and I thought ‘I’m going to burst here’.”

Angela says she cannot recall how long the call lasted but says it was answered quickly.

“He hardly spoke, he just let me empty all my thoughts and he listened,” she said. “That was so powerful to have someone just listening and not interrupting, not dismissing my feelings.”

The charity is set to vote on the proposed changes, which would take place over the next seven to 10 years, this weekend, although in Ireland the consultation process is not due to start until 2027.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK.

Alternatively, you can call Mind’s support line on 0300 102 1234, or NHS on 111.