Harry Styles finally explains why he was at the Vatican as the Pope was announced

Pop superstar Harry Styles found himself at the heart of an unexpected historical moment when the announcement of a new pope interrupted his haircut in Rome.

The 31-year-old singer recounted the surreal experience, which saw him witness the election of Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican last March.

Speaking on the BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Greg James, Styles described the scene: "It happened (when) I was getting a haircut in Rome, and then I just heard all these people start shouting: ‘Habemus papam, habemus papam’ (‘we have a pope’), and people just running down the street."

He continued: "So the guy cutting my hair, stopped cutting my hair, and he was like: ‘Habemus papam, there’s a new pope, there’s a new pope’, so then we finished up, and then I was like: ‘Oh, I’m like, five minutes’ walk (from history)’, so I walked over there. It was wild."

Styles was later photographed in the crowd, sporting a hat emblazoned with the slogan "techno is my boyfriend".

Later in the interview, Styles joked that his new album Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally, which was announced earlier this week, had previously been close to being called “Drink Water All The Time, But You Have To Pee Occasionally”.

Styles’ fourth studio album will be released on March 6, and the singer will embark on his first tour in three years in May, named Together, Together, which will see him perform six dates at Wembley Stadium beginning on June 12.

Tickets for Styles’ London leg of the tour will go on a pre-sale on January 26 at 11am, before going on general sale on January 30 at 11am.

The star launched his solo career after he and fellow One Direction members Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson went on hiatus in 2016, almost a year after Zayn Malik left the group.

Payne died at the age of 31 in October 2024 after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina and the boyband’s surviving members reunited at his funeral alongside former manager Simon Cowell in November that year.

Styles released his self-titled debut solo album in 2017, followed by Fine Line in 2019 and Harry’s House (2022) – the first and third releases reaching number one in the UK charts.

Styles has also had two UK number one singles as a solo artist with As It Was and Sign Of The Times, and has won multiple Grammy and Brit awards.