UK royals meet Italy's president and enjoy a special tour of Rome's Colosseum

ROME (AP) — King Charles III and Queen Camilla met Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Tuesday, the second day of a state visit to Italy that marks the British monarch's first overseas trip since he was briefly hospitalized for side effects from his cancer treatment.

The royal couple then visited some of Rome’s most iconic monuments, including the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, located in Piazza Venezia, where they laid a wreath. They enjoyed a special tour of the Colosseum, where they met a group of schoolchildren and were greeted by a cheering crowd of locals and tourists.

“I came here specifically to see the royals ... It’s very emotional because it’s the first time I’ve seen them,” said Samuele Tassinari, an 18-year-old student visiting from the northern city of Bologna. “We saw them earlier on their way to the Quirinale, and now we saw them go by in their usual Bentley, which they also have in London. It was very exciting.”

Charles and Camilla were escorted to the Quirinale Palace by a group of over 30 mounted presidential guards and were greeted by Mattarella and his daughter in the palace’s courtyard.

The royal visit was also celebrated with a joint flyover of the presidential palace by the Italian air force’s aerobatic team, known as Frecce Tricolori, and the RAF’s Red Arrows.

Mattarella will host a state banquet for the British monarchs at the Quirinale Palace on Wednesday evening, which also marks the royal couple's 20th wedding anniversary.

King Charles will also meet Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday, before addressing a joint session of the Italian Parliament in the afternoon, the first time a British monarch has done so.

In Rome, Charles will highlight the close links between Britain and Italy, two NATO allies, at a time when European nations are working to bolster support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia.

Charles and Camilla's visit will also include a side trip to Ravenna, in the northern Emilia Romagna region, on Thursday to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Adriatic city’s liberation by Allied forces.

The royals will celebrate the cuisine of the region and meet with local farmers devastated by floods that recently hit the area.

“The visit to Italy will underscore the depth and breadth of the bilateral relationship,’’ the Buckingham Palace said in a statement.

—

Associated Press videojournalist Silvia Stellaci in Rome contributed to this report.

King Charles III, right, and Queen Camilla walk through the Colosseum archeological park, in Rome, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

King Charles III, left, and Queen Camilla stand in front of the Colosseum, in Rome, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Aerobatic squad aircrafts of the British Red Arrows and the Italian Tricolored Arrows fly over Rome during an official visit to Italy of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

King Charles III, left, and Queen Camilla stand in front of the Colosseum, in Rome, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

King Charles III, right, and Queen Camilla walk through the Colosseum archeological park, in Rome, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

King Charles III, right, and Queen Camilla walk as they visit the Colosseum archeological park, in Rome, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

King Charles III, left, and Queen Camilla stand in front of the Colosseum, in Rome, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

King Charles III, left, and Queen Camilla stand in front of the Colosseum, in Rome, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

King Charles III, left, and Queen Camilla arrives to visit the Colosseum archeological park, in Rome, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

King Charles III, right, and Queen Camilla walk as they visit the Colosseum archeological park, in Rome, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

King Charles III, right, meets Italy's President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale Presidential Palace, in Rome, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

King Charles III, right, meets Italy's President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale Presidential Palace, in Rome, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Queen Camilla arrives at the Quirinale Presidential Palace to meet with Italy's President Sergio Mattarella, in Rome, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Queen Camilla arrives at the Quirinale Presidential Palace to meet with Italy's President Sergio Mattarella, in Rome, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

King Charles III, right, meets Italy's President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale Presidential Palace, in Rome, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

King Charles III, right, meets Italy's President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale Presidential Palace, in Rome, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

King Charles III, right, meets Italy's President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale Presidential Palace, in Rome, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean court sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison Friday in the first verdict from eight criminal trials over the martial law debacle that forced him out of office and other allegations.

Yoon was impeached, arrested and dismissed as president after his short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024 triggered huge public protests calling for his ouster.

The most significant criminal charge against him alleges that his martial law enforcement amounted to a rebellion, and the independent counsel has requested the death sentence in the case that is to be decided in a ruling next month.

Yoon has maintained he didn’t intend to place the country under military rule for an extended period, saying his decree was only meant to inform the people about the danger of the liberal-controlled parliament obstructing his agenda. But investigators have viewed Yoon’s decree as an attempt to bolster and prolong his rule, charging him with rebellion, abuse of power and other criminal offenses.

In Friday’s case, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Yoon for defying attempts to detain him, fabricating the martial law proclamation, and sidestepping a legally mandated full Cabinet meeting and thus depriving some Cabinet members who were not convened of their due rights to deliberate on his decree.

Judge Baek Dae-hyun said in the televised ruling that imposing “a grave punishment” was necessary because Yoon hasn’t shown remorse and has only repeated “hard-to-comprehend excuses.” The judge also restoring legal systems damaged by Yoon’s action was necessary.

Yoon’s defense team said they will appeal the ruling, which they believe was “politicized” and reflected “the unliberal arguments by the independent counsel.” Yoon’s defense team argued the ruling “oversimplified the boundary between the exercise of the president’s constitutional powers and criminal liability.”

Prison sentences in the multiple, smaller trials Yoon faces would matter if he is spared the death penalty or life imprisonment at the rebellion trial.

Park SungBae, a lawyer who specializes in criminal law, said there is little chance the court would decide Yoon should face the death penalty in the rebellion case. He said the court will likely issue a life sentence or a sentence of 30 years or more in prison.

South Korea has maintained a de facto moratorium on executions since 1997 and courts rarely hand down death sentences. Park said the court would take into account that Yoon’s decree didn’t cause casualties and didn’t last long, although Yoon hasn’t shown genuine remorse for his action.

South Korea has a history of pardoning former presidents who were jailed over diverse crimes in the name of promoting national unity. Those pardoned include strongman Chun Doo-hwan, who received the death penalty at a district court over his 1979 coup, the bloody 1980 crackdowns of pro-democracy protests that killed about 200 people, and other crimes.

Some observers say Yoon will likely retain a defiant attitude in the ongoing trials to maintain his support base in the belief that he cannot avoid a lengthy sentence but could be pardoned in the future.

On the night of Dec. 3, 2024, Yoon abruptly declared martial law in a televised speech, saying he would eliminate “anti-state forces” and protect “the constitutional democratic order.” Yoon sent troops and police officers to encircle the National Assembly, but many apparently didn’t aggressively cordon off the area, allowing enough lawmakers to get into an assembly hall to vote down Yoon’s decree.

No major violence occurred, but Yoon's stunt caused the biggest political crisis in South Korea and rattled its diplomacy and financial markets. For many, his decree, the first of its kind in more than four decades in South Korea, brought back harrowing memories of past dictatorships in the 1970s and 1980s, when military-backed leaders used martial law and emergency measures to deploy soldiers and tanks on the streets to suppress demonstrations.

After Yoon's ouster, his liberal rival Lee Jae Myung became president via a snap election last June. After taking office, Lee appointed three independent counsels to look into allegations involving Yoon, his wife and associates.

Yoon's other trials deal with charges like ordering drone flights over North Korea to deliberately inflame animosities to look for a pretext to declare martial law. Other charges accuse Yoon of manipulating the investigation into a marine’s drowning in 2023 and receiving free opinion surveys from an election broker in return for a political favor.

A supporter of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shouts slogans outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs and flags outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A supporter of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol waits for a bus carrying former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs as police officers stand guard outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs and flags outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A picture of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is placed on a board as supporters gather outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)