King Charles III has decided not to attend the international climate change summit in Egypt next month, fueling speculation that the new monarch will have to rein in his environmental activism now that he has ascended the throne.
In this photo Sept. 11, 2022, taken Britain’s King Charles III carries out official government duties from his red box in the Eighteenth Century Room at Buckingham Palace, London. (Victoria Jones/PA via AP)
The Sunday Times newspaper reported that the decision came after Conservative Prime Minister Liz Truss objected to Charles attending the conference, known as COP27, when she met with the king last month at Buckingham Palace.
FILE – Britain’s Prime Minister Liz Truss leaves Westminster Hall, in the Palace of Westminster, where the House of Commons and the House of Lords met to express their condolences in London, Monday, Sept. 12, 2022. British Prime Minister Liz Truss took office less than two weeks ago, impatient to set her stamp on government. The death of Queen Elizabeth II ripped up Truss’s carefully laid plans for the first weeks of her term, putting everyday politics in the U.K. on hold as the country was plunged into official and emotional mourning. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, Pool, File)
While there was no official rebuttal, other British media quoted unidentified palace and government sources as saying that Charles made his decision after consultation with the prime minister and that any suggestion of disagreement was untrue.
FILE – Britain’s then-Prince Charles during a visit to view the CycloneCC technology at Carbon Clean, Doosan Babcock in Renfrew, Scotland, Nov. 5, 2021, on the sidelines of the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference. Now that he’s monarch, King Charles III — one of Britain’s most prominent environmental voices — will be have to be more careful with his words.(Andy Buchanan/Pool Photo via AP, File)
Under the rules that govern Britain’s constitutional monarchy, the king is barred from interfering in politics. By convention, all official overseas visits by members of the royal family are undertaken in accordance with advice from the government and a decision like this would have resulted from consultation and agreement.
Before becoming king when Queen Elizabeth II died on Sept. 8, there had been speculation Charles would travel to the summit in the role he then held as Prince of Wales.
FILE – Britain’s then-Prince Charles addresses a Commonwealth Leaders’ Reception, at the COP26 Summit, at the SECC in Glasgow, Scotland, Nov. 2, 2021. Now that he’s monarch, King Charles III — one of Britain’s most prominent environmental voices — will be have to be more careful with his words. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool Photo via AP)
FILE – Britain’s then-Prince Charles walks alongside a hydrogen powered train with Martin Frobisher, Network Rail group engineering director at Glasgow Central Station, on the sidelines of the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference, in Glasgow, Scotland, Nov. 5, 2021. Now that he’s monarch, King Charles III — one of Britain’s most prominent environmental voices — will be have to be more careful with his words.(Jane Barlow, Pool Photo via AP, File)
When he was Prince of Wales, Charles was accused of meddling in government affairs, including allegations that he inappropriately lobbied government ministers.
FILE – Britain’s Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall leave after a service of thanksgiving for the reign of Queen Elizabeth II at St Paul’s Cathedral in London Friday June 3, 2022 on the second of four days of celebrations to mark the Platinum Jubilee. In retrospect, it seems Queen Elizabeth II was preparing us all along for her death. Whether it was due to age, ill health or a sense that the end was near, she spent much of the last two years tying up loose ends, making sure the family firm would keep ticking along. (Henry Nicholls, Pool Photo via AP, File)
“My life will, of course, change as I take up my new responsibilities,’’ Charles said in a televised address after his mother’s death.
“It will no longer be possible for me to give so much of my time and energies to the charities and issues for which I care so deeply. But I know this important work will go on in the trusted hands of others.”
