An Audience is a formal meeting that takes place between a head of state and another person at the invitation of the head of state. Often the invitation follows a request for a meeting from the other person. Though sometimes used in republics to describe meetings with presidents, the term Audience is more usually associated with monarchs and popes. President is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, universities, and countries. ... A monarch is a type of ruler or head of state. ... The Pope is the Catholic Bishop and patriarch of Rome, and head of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches. ...

In the past strict dress codes had to be followed by those granted an Audience. Men were required to wear a morning coat or white tie and tails, while women when meeting popes were required to wear full length black dresses and mantillas (black veils) unless they were a Catholic King¹, when they could wear white. Formal dress is now normally reserved for diplomatic Audiences. In the 1990s, a Roman Catholic priest in Ireland provoked a controversy by claiming that then President of Ireland Mary Robinson had breached Vatican protocol by not wearing black, by wearing jewellery and by not wearing a mantilla, for an Audience with Pope John Paul II. The Vatican immediately rubbished the claims, pointing out that the traditional form of dress worn for Papal Audiences was no longer obligatory but now optional, and no offence was meant or caused by Robinson's decision to wear a dark green unveiled outfit. It was also noted how no-one commented when her predecessor, Patrick Hillery, wore a lounge suit rather than a morning coat when attending Papal Audiences. A morning coat is a mans coat worn as the principal item in morning dress. ... The sobriquet Catholic King is a title awarded by the Pope as head of the Roman Catholic Church to a monarch who in the eyes of the papacy embodies Catholic principles in his or her personal live and state policies. ... The President of Ireland (Irish: Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of the Republic of Ireland. ... Mary Robinson (Irish name Máire Mhic Róibín; born 21 May 1944) was the first female President of Ireland, serving from 1990 to 1997, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, from 1997 to 2002. ... The Servant of God Pope John Paul II (Latin: ), born Karol Józef WojtyÅ‚a [1] (May 18, 1920 – April 2, 2005), reigned as pope of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City and of the Holy See for almost 27 years, from 16 October 1978 until his... Dr. Patrick John Hillery (born May 2, 1923) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and the sixth President of Ireland from 1976 until 1990. ...

Modern popes grant large Papal Audiences to crowds in St. Peter's Square or the Pope Paul VI Hall. In the United Kingdom, Audiences with the British monarch are usually listed in the Court Circular, which is published daily by the broadsheet press. The British Prime Minister has a weekly Audience with Queen Elizabeth II, usually every Tuesday evening during parliamentary time. Berninis piazza was extended by the Via della Conciliazione, Mussolinis grand avenue of approach. ... The Court Circular is the official record of all the engagements carried out by the British Royal Family, as well as appointments to their staff and to the court. ... Broadsheet is a size and format for newspapers, and a descriptive term applied to papers which use that format rather than the smaller tabloid format. ... In the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister is the head of government, exercising many of the executive functions nominally vested in the Sovereign, who is head of state. ... Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor), styled HM The Queen (born 21 April 1926) is the Queen regnant and head of state of Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent...

Footnote

¹ The honorific title Catholic King, which was awarded by popes, is applied irrespective of sex, to a very small number of monarchs. Only two monarchs and their spouses currently hold the title; the Kings of Belgium and Spain and their Queens consort.