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Despite postponing their official state visit to the Vatican due to Pope Francis' health, King Charles and Queen Camilla met privately with the Pope on April 9, the Vatican press office said.
The Pope congratulated the royal couple on their 20th wedding anniversary and "reciprocated His Majesty's wishes for a speedy recovery of their health," the press office said.
King Charles was briefly hospitalized on March 27 for what were described as "temporary side effects" of his cancer treatment. Pope Francis has been convalescing at the Vatican since he was discharged from the hospital on March 23 after more than five weeks of hospital treatment for breathing difficulties, double pneumonia and a polymicrobial infection in his airways.
Change of plans
The Vatican press office had said on April 8 that the pope was beginning to receive some visitors instead of spending his days only with his personal secretaries and the medical staff who attend him.
The kings' brief meeting with the Pope on April 9 was very different from the full program that had been planned for their state visit.
In addition to an audience with the Pope, they would have attended "a service in the Sistine Chapel, centered on the theme of 'care for creation,' reflecting Pope Francis and His Majesty's longstanding commitment to nature," according to the itinerary originally released by Buckingham Palace.
Members of the choir of the King's Chapel Royal and the choir of St. George's Chapel, Windsor were to sing in the service with the choir of the Sistine Chapel.
While still Prince of Wales, the king met with Pope Francis in 2019, when he went to the Vatican for the canonization of St. John Henry Newman. His last private audience with Pope Francis was in 2017.
The kings' state visit had been planned to coincide with the holy year 2025, "a year of reconciliation, prayer and walking together as 'Pilgrims of Hope,' which is the theme of the Jubilee", Buckingham Palace said.
