The UK has two new personalities going face to face and discussing social and political issues – UK Prime Minister Liz Truss (who replaced Boris Johnson in 2022) and King Charles III, who ascended to the throne after Queen Elizabeth II’s death in September.
Neither one is a novice about the rules, regulations and expectations about their positions, but it would have been interesting to be a fly on the wall during the conversation they had when Prime Minister Truss visited the King at Buckingham Palace last month.
During that meeting, it was decided, apparently mutually, and amicably, that King Charles III will not attend the international climate summit scheduled to take place next month in Egypt. Climate issues are notably important to King Charles.
A news report from the Sunday Times suggested that King Charles III made that decision after Prime Minister Truss advised him against attending the summit this year.
However, according to a cabinet member, Secretary of State Simon Clarke, the decision was made by both the government and the palace, mutually.
Secretary of State Clarke said that as far as he is aware, both the government and the palace thought it was best for the King not to attend the summit, and that any speculations that the Prime Minister ordered the King not to go were false.
Clarke rejected speculations that the Prime Minister did not want King Charles III to attend the summit because she wanted to make changes to the country’s climate goals. He insisted that the UK government’s commitment to cutting greenhouse emissions to zero by the year 2050 is still a priority.
The rules regarding Britain’s constitutional monarchy bar the King, and other royals, from interfering in politics. All official international visits made by royal family members must be approved by the government.
Before Queen Elizabeth II passed away early last month, King Charles III, then Prince Charles, had planned to travel to this year’s climate summit, COP27, which will be held in Egypt at the Red Sea Resort from November 16 to 18.
Charles attended last year’s climate summit, COP26, which was held in Glasgow, Scotland. At the conference, Charles called for the world to recognize that the window of opportunity to recover from climate change and global warming was dangerously narrow.
His warning seems to have more meaning now as we see extreme flooding in Pakistan, that has lasted for four months and killed more than 1,600 people. Hurricane Ian ravaged Florida and Cuba, leaving a trail of destruction and death. These are just two examples among many.
Before ascending to the throne, Charles III had faced numerous accusations of interfering in government affairs and lobbying government ministers.
When he became King, Charles acknowledged that his freedom to speak out on public issues had been diminished, compared to when he was a prince. His advisors will make choices for the right opportunities for the King to make overseas trips and speak as the sovereign.
The issue of the trip to the climate summit comes amid a lot of criticism that the palace has faced since the Queen died, and people have been debating for a long time whether the monarchy still has a relevant place in modern society.
Addressing the nation after the Queen’s death, King Charles III said that the responsibilities he had taken up as King would change his life, and he would have to scale back on the time and energy he had put into the charities and issues he cared about personally.
