Queen Camilla Showed Her 'Rare Gift' During Italy Visit: 'This Wasn't Superficial Small Talk' (Exclusive)

King Charles and Queen Camilla meet many people from around the world, but someone who met them during the couple's state visit to Italy says the Queen makes every conversation feel important.

PEOPLE exclusively spoke with Dr. Paul Atkin, CEO of the Teatro San Cassiano Group, who attended an intimate reception with the royal couple at the Villa Wolkonsky in Rome on April 8. Atkin briefly spoke with Queen Camilla during the event and says he was "blown away" by their conversation.

“What struck me most powerfully was how she looked directly into my eyes with such genuine warmth and attentiveness,” he shares. “You know immediately when someone is merely being polite versus truly engaged, and she was absolutely present in our conversation.”

Atkin added that he was impressed by the Queen’s “intellectual curiosity” when they spoke.

“This wasn't superficial small talk — she asked thoughtful questions that pushed our conversation deeper,” he says. "She has this rare gift of making you feel like your work is the most fascinating thing she's heard all day. It's not just charm, it's an intellectual engagement that catches you off guard."

“The way she absorbed information, processed it, and built upon it in real-time was extraordinary. I've been in boardrooms with brilliant minds for decades, and her conversational intelligence ranks among the most impressive I've encountered," he continues.

Atkin says Queen Camilla was especially intrigued by his company’s current project — restoring the world's very first public opera house, the Teatro San Cassiano in Venice — on King Charles' behalf. 

“Her eyes lit up immediately!” he recalls. “What touched me deeply was how she referred to King Charles – not as 'the King' but warmly as 'my husband.' She smiled and said, 'My husband would love this — he's passionately devoted to opera.' "

Then, Atkin noted, Camilla became “quite practical,” asking for details to share with the King.

"There was such authentic enthusiasm in her voice,” he explains. “It was profoundly encouraging, especially given how challenging it's been to get this massive undertaking off the ground. When someone at that level shows genuine interest, it feels like a validation of 10 years of work.”

The reception at Villa Wolkonsky was another meaningful stop on the King and Queen’s Italian tour, where they also posed for a series of photos commemorating their 20th wedding anniversary.

On April 8, the couple visited Quirinale Palace, where they met with the President of the Italian Republic, His Excellency Signor Sergio Mattarella and the President’s daughter, Signora Laura Mattarella.

King Charles, 76, and Queen Camilla, 77, also posed for photos outside Rome’s Colosseum.

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On April 9, before the royal couple attended a joint session of the Italian Parliament, Queen Camilla visited a local school in Rome, where she met with administrators and shared some sweet moments with students.

The King and Queen were due to meet with Pope Francis as part of their Italian tour, however, Buckingham Palace announced on March 25 that the meeting had been postponed by mutual agreement due to the Catholic leader’s ongoing health concerns.

Pope Francis, 88, has been advised to rest after being discharged from the hospital on March 23 following a 38-day stay. King Charles and Queen Camilla are understood to have sent the Pope their wishes for his recuperation and hope to visit him at the Vatican once he has recovered.