Former princes meet presidents all the time. It’s a crucial element of the day job. The key for royals, as for politicians, is timing. And the encounter between King Charles and the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen was seriously mistimed.
Whatever the spin – and there’ll be plenty – the photograph of the two together can be interpreted as the Head of State endorsing the Windsor Framework. Such an endorsement is something Charles should run a million miles from, given the ink isn’t yet dry on the paperwork and the detail of the deal has yet to be examined forensically by all interested politicians.
I have to assume that vanity played a part in yesterday’s regal debacle – a desire to appear important
The warning signs were there when those responsible for setting up the audience at Windsor Castle couldn’t even agree on its genesis. According to palace officials, the King was acting on government advice.
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