King Charles Writes to Pope Francis amid His Health Worries as Plans for Italy and Vatican Visit Confirmed

King Charles has written a letter to Pope Francis for his recovery amid his health worries as plans for the monarch's visit to the Vatican and Italy are confirmed.

The King, 76, and Queen Camilla, 77, are set to visit Rome and Ravenna in Italy and the Vatican City over four days from April 7 to 10. That week coincides with another special occasion: the couple’s 20^th wedding anniversary on April 9.

The royal trip abroad is going ahead despite the Pope’s health challenges. A palace source says it was their "hopes and prayers that Pope Francis’ health will enable the visit to go ahead.” The wishes will be echoed by the royal couple, sources say.

Palace aides are calling the trip a “historic visit," as it is taking place in the year of a Papal Jubilee, which happens every 25 years. It “will mark a significant step forward in relations between the Catholic Church and Church of England [which Charles heads] with a special service in the Sistine Chapel, joining hands in a celebration of ecumenism,” the palace says.

The four-day visit will also highlight the work King Charles and the Pope have done on climate and nature, they say.

The visits begin on April 7 when King Charles and Queen Camilla arrive, but they will head to the Vatican, for a planned audience with the Pope, the following day. There, they are intending to join Pope Francis in celebrating the 2025 Jubilee. In “a historic first,” King Charles, as Supreme Governor of the Church of England, will also visit the Papal Basilica of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls.

“St. Paul’s Outside the Walls is recognized as the Papal Basilica where reconciliation, ecumenism and relationships across the Christian faith are celebrated,” a spokesperson explained at a briefing on March 17.

“Held traditionally once every 25 years, the Jubilee is a special year for the Catholic Church; a year of reconciliation, prayer and walking together as ‘Pilgrims of Hope,' which is the Jubilee’s theme,” a palace spokesman added of the special period of celebration.

The visit to Italy will take in Rome and Ravenna and champion what the spokesperson called the  “strong bilateral relationship between the U.K. and Italy.”

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In Rome, King Charles will make history when he becomes the first British monarch to address a joint session of the Italian Parliament, and the royal couple will also attend a black-tie state banquet at the Palazzo Quirinale hosted by President Sergio Mattarella.

In Rome, King Charles and Queen Camilla will also have audiences with President Mattarella and Prime Minister Meloni, and the royal couple will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

There will also be a celebration of the shared “common defense interests,” such as the collaboration on a worldwide combat air program.

In Ravenna, Charles and Camilla will be guests of honor at a reception marking the 80th anniversary of the province’s liberation from Nazi occupation by Allied Forces. The liberation took place on 10th April 1945 (80 years to the day of the royals' visit).

Sustainability, a subject close to King Charles' heart, will be on the menu for the tour, too.

In preparation for the visit, King Charles hosted a party for the British-Italian community in February, with a meal inspired by Italian-American actor and food expert Stanley Tucci. The links between that day and the tour are marked with a celebration of the Slow Food movement in Ravenna. There, at a regional festival in Ravenna, Charles and Camilla will get to taste and showcase the traditional Emilia-Romagna cuisine, Slow Food, and the region’s produce. King Charles will also meet local farmers, whose land and crops have been severely affected by devastating floods that have hit the region in recent years.

In the areas of culture, literature and heritage, the visit will also go some way to underscoring the links between the two countries over books and writing, and the moves to preserve Ancient Roman and Byzantine architecture and heritage crafts.