The British King Charles III. Contrary to previous plans, he will not be traveling to the world climate summit in Egypt in November. Buckingham Palace confirmed this to Sky News on Sunday after the “Sunday Times” reported that the new Prime Minister Liz Truss wanted to prevent the king from attending.
A senior, unnamed Palace source told the newspaper the decision was made in the spirit that Charles, as Britain’s head of state, was consistently keen to act “on the advice of the government”. While the 73-year-old has been a pioneer in climate protection for decades, Truss strikes a completely different note. She wants to return to climate-damaging fracking in Great Britain, develop new gas fields and has made the arch-conservative Jacob Rees-Mogg energy minister, who has expressed skepticism about climate change in the past.
Climate policy as an affair of the heart
According to government circles, the report said the palace and government had jointly decided that there were “more suitable options for the new king’s first state visit”.
The royal source close to Charles told The Times the king was “personally disappointed” as he had various meetings and a speech planned for the summit. However, he will still find ways to be present at the most important international meeting of climate policy. Queen Elizabeth II gave a video address to the heads of government gathered in Glasgow last year. Charles was there in person at the time and made an urgent appeal to the world to do more to combat the impending climate catastrophe.
The controversy is seen as the first sign of a new, less reserved approach from the royal family, as Charles’ displeasure with the decision has been leaked. In the past, Charles, as heir to the throne, was notorious for letting governments know of his concerns. In his first speech as king, however, he admitted that from now on some of the concerns of his heart would no longer be able to be pursued in the same way.
