Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Germany. – in the House of Commons at on 28 March 1934.
Since the Lateran Treaty was signed in 1929, the Pope, as temporal sovereign of the Vatican City, has been entitled to a salute. This right extends to his representatives having diplomatic status, and has no territorial limitation. The salute does not imply any recognition of the ecclesiastical status of the Pope or his representatives. Instructions in this sense were issued to the Fleet in 1929, and they have recently, as a matter of routine, been formally incorporated in the King's Regulations. If there is any doubt as to the diplomatic status of a Papal Legate, the responsible officer will obtain directions from the Admiralty, who will, if necessary, consult the Foreign Office. The phrase "military honours" as used in the King's Regulations means not honours given by the Army, but honours appropriate to non-civilian personages, namely, reception with a guard and band. These are normally given only to Sovereigns, Royal personages, Viceroys and Governors, and senior officers of Defence Services, whether British or foreign: they are not given to diplomatic personages.