The King and Queen’s state visit to The Holy See next month has been postponed by mutual agreement “as medical advice has now suggested that Pope Francis would benefit from an extended period of rest and recuperation”, Buckingham Palace said.
In a statement, the palace said: “Their Majesties send The Pope their best wishes for his convalescence and look forward to visiting him in The Holy See, once he has recovered.”
Pope Francis, 88, was discharged from Rome’s Gemelli hospital last week after being admitted on 14 February after experiencing breathing difficulties.
He was first treated for bronchitis after being diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs.
According to the BBC, doctors have said he will need at least two months of rest at the Vatican.
He is particularly vulnerable to pneumonia after he contracted pleurisy – an inflammation of the lungs – as a young man and had a partial lung removal.
The pontiff was previously hospitalised with pneumonia in March 2023, and later that year underwent an operation to repair an abdominal hernia.
He was elected as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in 2013.
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires in 1936, he was the first Latin American and the first Jesuit to lead the Roman Catholic Church.
© Getty ImagesThe King has written privately to Pope Francis since he was taken ill and the pair last met in 2019, when Charles was the Prince of Wales, for the canonisation of Cardinal John Henry Newman.
Charles and Camilla’s tour of Italy from 7 to 10 April is understood to still be going ahead, however there are expected to be some changes to the programme.
The monarch will hold audiences with Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Charles and Camilla will attend a black-tie state banquet at the Palazzo Quirinale, hosted by the president.
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