List of ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the Holy See

Diplomatic relations were broken off between the Pope and the Kingdom of England in 1534, after the Act of Supremacy of that year declared that King Henry VIII was "the only Supreme Head in Earth of the Church of England". This break continued throughout the remaining existence of the Kingdom of England and its successor the Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800). However, after the formation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland an "unofficial official" was kept in Rome from the mid-nineteenth century, holding the title of representative to the Papal States. With the rise of Italian nationalism, the Papal States were conquered by the House of Savoy and a unified Kingdom of Italy was declared in 1861. In 1874, due to the Roman Question, the Conservative government withdrew this representative, reasoning that it was not cost-effective to maintain a representative to a "non-existent state". It has been claimed that the minister was always a Protestant, and that Francis Campbell, appointed ambassador in 2005, was "the first Catholic to hold the position of emissary of the Court of St James's to the Holy See since the Reformation"; in fact, however, the first two 20th-century envoys, Sir Henry Howard and Count de Salis, were Catholics. ==List of heads of mission==

Attachés resident at Rome The United Kingdom was represented by an Attaché to the legation at Florence resident at Rome. • 1832–1844: Thomas Aubin • 1858–1870: Odo Russell • 1870–1874: Henry Clarke Jervoise • 1874: post abolished Envoys extraordinary and ministers plenipotentiary • 1914–1916: Sir Henry Howard • 1916–1923: John Francis Charles, 7th Count de Salis-Soglio • 1922–1928: Hon. Sir Odo Russell • 1928–1930: Sir Henry Chilton ''Relations downgraded due to the Church's interference in Maltese politics'' Chargés d'affaires • 1930–1932: George Ogilvie-Forbes • 1932–1933: Sir Ivone Kirkpatrick Envoys extraordinary and ministers plenipotentiary • 1933–1934: Sir Robert Clive • 1934–1936: Sir Charles Wingfield • 1936–1947: Sir D'Arcy Osborne • 1947–1951: Sir Victor Perowne • 1951–1954: Sir Walter Roberts • 1954–1957: Sir Douglas Howard • 1957–1960: Sir Marcus Cheke • 1960–1965: Sir Peter Scarlett • 1965–1970: Sir Michael Williams • 1970–1975: Desmond Crawley • 1975–1977: Dugald Malcolm • 1978–1980: Geoffrey Allan Crossley • 1980–1982: Sir Mark Evelyn Heath Ambassadors • 1982–1985: Sir Mark Evelyn Heath • 1985–1988: David Lane • 1988–1991: John Broadley • 1991–1995: Andrew Palmer • 1995–1998: Maureen MacGlashan • 1998–2002: Mark Pellew • 2002–2005: Kathryn Colvin • 2005–2011: Francis Campbell • 2011–2011: George Edgar ''(chargé d'affaires)'' • 2011–2016: Nigel Baker • 2016–2021: Sally Axworthy • 2021–: Christopher Trott ==Notes==