He is 77-years-old. She is a decade older. But both Pope Francis and Britain’s Queen Elizabeth seemed in fine form as they met for the first time, joined by the monarch’s 92-year-old husband Prince Philip.<br /><br />At the Vatican on her first foreign trip since 2011, the Queen exchanged gifts with the pontiff. <br /><br />She offered a hamper containing British produce including honey and whiskey. He presented her with a stone orb with a cross on top, for her baby great-grandson Prince George.<br /><br />And although the visit to the Argentine Pope coincided with the 32nd anniversary of the start of the Falklands conflict, it is unlikely anyone mentioned the war.<br /><br />Earlier, Queen Elizabeth had lunch with Italy’s President Giorgio Napolitano, himself a sprightly 88, at the Quirinale Palace.<br /><br />This was just a one day visit. But the Queen will cross the Channel again in June, making a state visit to France during which she will mark the 70th anniversary of the World War Two D-Day landings in Normandy.
