London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025

King Charles’ first political row is about Brexit because of course it is

King Charles’ first political row is about Brexit because of course it is

Brexiteers take aim at Downing Street over British monarch’s meeting with the EU chief.
Less than six months into his reign, King Charles is at the center of a Brexity political storm.

The U.K. monarch’s meeting Monday with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen — on the day a long-awaited deal to put months of wrangling over post-Brexit trade was struck — sparked swift fury among Euroskeptic politicians, who saw it as a crude attempt to bump them into backing an agreement.

“I cannot quite believe that No10 would ask HM the King to become involved in the finalising of a deal as controversial as this one,” tweeted Northern Ireland’s former First Minister Arlene Foster. The “crass” move would, she said, “go down very badly” in Northern Ireland.

The U.K. sovereign is, according to the unwritten British constitution, meant to represent the whole country and steer well clear of politics (although as prince of Wales, Charles was seen to have sailed close to the wind).

Both No. 10 Downing Street and the European Commission stressed that von der Leyen’s visit was separate from talks on the Northern Ireland protocol. The BBC and the Daily Mail both reported that the pair, who have met before, would discuss climate change and the war in Ukraine. A European Commission spokesperson said von der Leyen’s meeting with the king was “not part” of the Brexit protocol talks, and instead on “separate tracks of discussion.”

But the move came on a day of highly-choreographed political theater, including a joint press conference between Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and von der Leyen in Windsor, home to royal residence Windsor Palace. Brexiteers were quick to make what they saw as a link, and trained their fire on No. 10.

“I think the sovereign should only be involved when things have been completed and accepted,” Jacob Rees-Mogg, a former Cabinet minister, told broadcaster GB News on Monday morning.

He added: “The king gives assent to acts of parliament when parliament has agreed; he doesn’t express his view on acts of parliament when they are going through the process. I think the same applies, that his majesty should not be involved until there is full support for this agreement.”

Nigel Farage, the former Brexit Party leader and ex-MEP, said it was “absolutely disgraceful” to “even ask the king to get involved in something that is overtly political in every way.”

Before an official announcement came, Democratic Unionist Party MP Sammy Wilson branded the idea — first reported by Sky News on Friday evening — a “cynical use, or abuse of the king” that would only raise the temperature in Northern Ireland.

Conflicting accounts about the genesis of the meeting were flying on Monday as the face-to-face was confirmed.

A palace spokesman said the king was “pleased to meet any world leader if they are visiting Britain,” and stressed it is “the government’s advice that he should do so.”

Downing Street pointed to the palace. Sunak’s official spokesman said Monday that meeting von der Leyen was “fundamentally” a decision for Buckingham Palace, but declined to say who had requested the sit-down.

The prime minister “firmly believes it’s for the king to make those decisions,” the spokesman told reporters at the daily No. 10 press briefing.

“It’s not uncommon for his majesty to accept invitations to meet certain leaders,” he added, pointing to Charles’ recent audiences with the presidents of Poland and Ukraine.

Former Cabinet minister — and close ally of ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson — Nadine Dorries wasn’t buying it. “Either No10 is lying or Buckingham Palace,” she tweeted. “I know which one my money is on.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
×