Princess Charlene and Prince Albert II of Monaco to visit Vatican

Monaco's Prince Albert II and his wife Princess Charlene will travel to the Vatican for a state visit on 18 January. The royal couple will meet an audience with Pope Francis during their visit.

One of the agendas of Albert for the visit is to discuss and share some organic farming tips, according to People. The prince, who has been all-praise for the pontiff's call for environmental responsibility, will reportedly share photographs and information about the techniques used at his 125-acre summer residence Roc Agel, which is located high on the slopes of Mont Agel on the border between France and Monaco.

According to sources, Pope Francis is interested in implementing Albert's ideas at the gardens of his summer residence, the Papal Palace in Castel Gandolfo, about 35km (22 miles) south-east of Rome.

The visit will mark Princess Charlene's third official tour of the Vatican. She visited the country last in November 2015, a week after the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris. The princess, who gave birth to twins in December 2014, took part in an annual conference of health workers during her visit.

A former Olympic swimmer, Charlene stressed the importance of learning water safety techniques at the conference. She spoke about how the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation was saving people from drowning since its launch in December 2012.

"Having spent years teaching underprivileged children to acquire simple water safety techniques around aquatic environments, I can only say that simple ideas prove sometimes to be most effective," the 37-year-old princess said.

Charlene's first state visit to the Vatican was in January 2013 along with Prince Albert II. The royal couple's visit marked the 55th anniversary of the meeting of Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco with Pope Pius XII in 1957.