King Charles and Queen Camilla pay the surprise visit Pope Francis | Pope Francis

King Carlo e Queen Camilla He made a surprise private visit to a convalescent Pope Francis on Wednesday afternoon during their four -day state visit to Italy.

The royal couple visited Francis, 88 years old, in his home at Santa Marta in Vatican City, where it is recovering from a serious pneumonian attack in both lungs. A public official had been previously removed from the Royals program due to the bad health of the Pontiff.

The Vatican declared in a declaration that during the meeting the Pope expressed his best wishes to Charles and Camilla on their 20th wedding anniversary, who celebrated on Wednesday, while they wanted his “rapid recovery”.

Buckingham Palace said that Charles and Camilla “were pleased that the Pope was quite well to host them – and that they had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person”.

Francis was discharged from the Gemelli hospital in Rome, where he spent five weeks to be treated for pneumonia dangerous for life on March 23. His doctors said he would have to convince at home for at least two months.

Wednesday’s meeting came after Charles became the first British monarch to face a joint session of the Italian Parliament, surprising many politicians with his Italian linguistic skills.

The king joked about the fact that he hoped not to “ruin” Dante’s language to the point that “he would not be invited Italy Still”.

“Italy is a country very dear to my heart and that of the queen, as it is for many British,” he said.

The couple met the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, Wednesday at the beginning and is hosted by President Sergio Mattarella for a state banquet at the Quirinale palace on Wednesday evening. They will travel to Ravenna, in Emilia-Romagna, on Thursday before returning home.