Alexander Larman

Why King Charles shouldn’t meet Ursula von der Leyen

(Credit: Getty images)

Is it wise for King Charles to get dragged into the Brexit deal row? European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen is in Windsor today to sign off on an agreement over post-Brexit trade arrangements for Northern Ireland. Afterwards, von der Leyen will meet the King for tea at Windsor Castle. Such a meeting – at a time of political tension – is a mistake.

That the monarch should be above the trivial concerns of everyday politics is one of the most closely-observed rules of the British constitution. Her Majesty the Queen used this as a guiding principle throughout her many years on the throne. Indeed, when it was feared Queen Elizabeth might be compromised over the proroguing of Parliament in 2019, and a potential constitutional crisis created in the process, back channel communications between Buckingham Palace, 10 Downing Street and the wider civil service went into overdrive to prevent such a humiliation.

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