The British King Charles III and his wife, Queen Camilla have postponed a planned state visit to the Vatican in early April amid medical advice from the pope’s doctors,
Buckingham Palace made this disclosure in a statement on Tuesday.
“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 statement said.
Recall that the British head of state wrote to Francis when he was struck down with pneumonia in both lungs in February, following fears he might not survive.
The global Catholic Church's head was discharged on Sunday after almost 40 days in Rome’s Gemelli hospital.
According to the Vatican, since then, he has concelebrated mass within the Santa Marta guesthouse where he lives, as well as undergoing breathing and speech therapy to help his recovery.
The Vatican added that the 88-years-old pontiff has received no visitors apart from his closest associates and no date has been set for his next appearance in public.
King Charles, who is the head of the Church of England, had been scheduled to meet his Catholic counterpart on April 8.
However, by mutual agreement with the Holy See, the visit which would have been Charles’s first to the Vatican as monarch has now been postponed.
Charles last visited the Holy See as heir to the British throne in 2019.
