King Charles will become the first British monarch to visit the Papal Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls in Rome during a planned tour next month of Italy to meet Pope Francis

Britain's King Charles III's planned state visit to the Vatican in early April will go ahead despite Pope Francis's hospitalization for pneumonia, Buckingham Palace said on Tuesday. Charles, who is the head of the Church of England,

The tour from April 7 to 10 will include two state visits, to Rome and Ravenna in Italy, and to the Holy See in the Vatican.

Pope Francis has entered his fifth week of hospital treatment for double pneumonia and is continuing the work of his papacy as signs of his recovery remain positive. Francis remains in stable condition,

The pope was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on Feb. 14 with a severe respiratory infection that has required evolving treatment.