King and Queen’s state visit to Vatican postponed as Pope Francis continues recovery

The King and Queen’s state visit to the Vatican has been postponed because the Pope needs further time to recover, Buckingham Palace has announced.

Charles and Camilla were due to visit Pope Francis in the Holy See in two weeks, but the tour was put on hold after medical advice suggested Francis would benefit from extra time to recuperate.

The news came after Pope Francis left hospital on Sunday, returning to the Vatican after surviving a five-week, life-threatening bout of pneumonia.

Today, the doctor in charge of the Pope’s hospital care revealed how his medical team briefly considered suspending treatment to ‘let him go’, but decided on an aggressive treatment that put his organs at risk.

The pontiff, who appeared weak and frail when he greeted the crowd outside the Gemelli hospital before his discharge, is under doctors’ orders to observe two months of convalescence during which he should avoid large gatherings.

Buckingham Palace said: ‘The King and Queen’s State Visit to The Holy See 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.

‘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.’

The Palace had announced last week that the trip to the Vatican would go ahead despite the pontiff’s continued illness.

The visit to the Vatican and Italy from April 7-10 was set to celebrate the papal jubilee and the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Church of England.

The historic overseas tour was due to be the King’s first meeting with the Pope as monarch and head of the Church of England.

During the state visit to Italy, he will become the first British sovereign to address both houses of the Italian parliament.

He is also set to hold audiences with Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and the monarch and his wife will attend a black-tie state banquet at the Palazzo Quirinale, hosted by the president.

Charles and Camilla are celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary on April 9 while away in Italy.

Twenty years ago, their marriage ceremony was postponed with just four days to go after the death of Pope John Paul II.

The then-Prince of Wales put duty first and his wedding date was moved from April 8 to April 9 because it clashed with the pope’s funeral.

Charles and Pope Francis first met in 2017, when the then-prince and Duchess of Cornwall were received at a papal audience in the Vatican at the end of a European tour.

He also met the pontiff in 2019 at the canonisation of Cardinal John Henry Newman.

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