King Charles blocked from attending COP27 by Sunak despite 'champing at the bit' to go
The monarch is a lifelong environmentalist and is said to have been keen to attend the climate conference that starts in Cairo next weekend.
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Rishi Sunak has decided to uphold Liz Truss's decision to prevent King Charles attending the Cop 27 climate conference despite the sovereign “champing at the bit” to go. Mr Sunak has faced criticism himself for deciding not to attend the event and has faced calls to allow the Monarch to attend instead.
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The King is said to be disappointed by the advice from Downing Street that he should skip the event with some allies suggesting that His Majesty's presence would prove Britain's environmental commitment.
However, the Monarch is set to follow Mr Sunak's advice after Downing Street made it clear that it wouldn't reopen any debate about the issue.
The Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey had suggested on Thursday that it was up to the King if he attended the conference which raised hopes of a U-turn.
A friend of the Monarch told The Times that he would be disappointed not to go.
They said: "He will be champing at the bit but knows it would need government blessing.
“The PM has reversed the fracking decision so this could be another smart environmentally-focused move.”
Buckingham Palace sources denied that the King was disappointed while Downing Street insisted there was no row about Mr Sunak's refusal to reopen discussions about the matter.
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What a disgrace that Rishi Sunak can’t be bothered to go to Cop 27. Just as the UN warns of looming climate catastrophe. To add insult to injury, this Tory government has stopped King Charles from attending the summit. Sunak’s snub is discordant, disdainful and dangerous
— Mary Riddell (@MaryRiddell) October 27, 2022
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Ms Truss had originally advised His Majesty to stay away from the conference because she wanted to use his first foreign trip for diplomatic leverage with nations such as Canada.
A Downing Street spokeswoman confirmed on Thursday that the Government had advised the monarch to stay away from the conference.
She said:“As is standard practice, government advice was sought and provided under a previous PM, and it was unanimously agreed it would not be the right occasion for the King to visit.”
Even if Mr Sunak suddenly changed his mind it is unlikely that His Majesty would attend due to the difficulties of making travel arrangements at short notice.
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Should King Charles attend COP 27 as an advocate to combat climate change now that he is Britain's monarch?@JohnKerry thinks so. "His voice has been a 60 year consistent voice on these issues... I personally as an envoy for the United States would love to see him there." pic.twitter.com/uW2nekmbTJ
— Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) October 26, 2022
One potential option would be to travel by private jet but this would be seen as contrary to the spirit of an event promoting global environmentalism.
However, the Monarch does intend to engage with COP27 remotely, possibly through the use of a video message.
Meanwhile, Mr Sunak has been slammed for deciding not to attend with former culture secretary Nadine Dorries saying it was wrong given the scale of the event.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused the former Chancellor of a "failure of leadership."
He said: "Many people would be expecting a prime minister of the UK not just to attend but to use it as an opportunity to pull world leaders together to deal with climate.”
