King Charles and Queen Camilla are to host actor Stanley Tucci at a formal dinner on Friday evening to mark the confirmation of a state visit to Italy later this year.

Charles and Camilla invited the renowned foodie, David and Victoria Beckham, and the Italian ambassador, Inigo Lambertini, to the UK to enjoy a feast of sustainable food on Friday evening, ahead of their trip to Italy and the Vatican in April.

To celebrate King Charles and Queen Camilla's upcoming visit to Italy, which will coincide with their wedding anniversary in April, they hosted a dinner inspired by Italian-American actor Stanley Tucci.

The dinner has been in the works for nearly two years, according to Tucci’s recently released memoir. In his memoir, What I Ate in One Year, Tucci details his year of eating in 2023—which included filming the Oscar-nominated film Conclave in Italy. A few passages, however, discuss this dinner for King Charles.

The UK-Italy dinner, hosted by the King and Queen at their Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire, and with the Italian ambassador to the UK, Inigo Lambertini, is a celebration of "slow food", which uses fresh local food and traditional cooking methods.

King Charles mixes ‘great’ martini as Stanley Tucci watches on at Italian-inspired dinner - The menu has been created by renowned Italian chef Francesco Mazzei and inspired by Tucci, who fronted the TV series Tucci – The Heart Of Italy.

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King Charles III and Queen Camilla hosted Stanley Tucci, Helen Mirren and more for an Italian-inspired meal ahead of their state visit to Italy

The King and Queen are set to host Hollywood star Stanley Tucci for a black tie dinner to celebrate Italian cuisine at Highgrove on Friday evening. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.