King Charles should not go to Cop27 and instead send Prince William in his place, the Environment Secretary has said, following reports Liz Truss intervened to stop the monarch attending.
Buckingham Palace has confirmed that Charles will not be attending the international meeting in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, despite his long-standing and passionate commitment to environmental issues.
The Sunday Times reported that the decision not to go was made after the prime minister raised objections during an audience with the monarch at the palace last month.
Mark Spencer, the new fisheries and agriculture secretary, said William should go instead as the king now had “other priorities”.
Spencer, speaking at a Conservative Environment Network event at the Conservative conference on Sunday, said: “Thankfully I am not responsible for the King’s Diary. He has expressed a great interest in the environment in the past, but I think in his new role as monarch there will be many other priorities and I think, as he has said himself, he is ready to take on other challenges.”
He said he thought Prince William should take up the mantle: “I’m sure the Prince of Wales will be a tremendous ambassador for the environment moving forward.”
William took on some of the King’s environmental work, including work on rainforests and species conservation.
During the platinum jubilee celebrations in June, the new Prince of Wales gave a speech after pictures of the planet were projected at Buckingham Palace.
William said at the time: “Looking at these amazing images really makes me think of all the monumental and pioneering work of so many visionary conservationists who have gone before.
“I’m so proud that my grandfather and father were part of this effort.”
Spencer’s ministerial colleague, Under Secretary Simon Clarke, denied claims that Truss had ordered the king to stay away from next month’s event in Egypt.
He said the decision was mutually agreed by the government and the palace, telling Times Radio: “It was clear that this was a decision made by consensus between the king and the government.
“This is a decision made by mutual agreement, as far as I know, between the palace and the government. The speculation this morning that he has been ordered to stay away is simply not true.
Number 10 denied this earlier in the day, with a source saying it was “ridiculous” to suggest the Prime Minister was “giving orders” to the monarch.
The monarch is a veteran environmental campaigner and was expected to attend the summit. He addressed the Cop26 summit in Glasgow the previous year and the Prince of Wales spoke at the event, with the Queen also recording an opening address calling on world leaders to take action on climate change.
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However, a government source confirmed the pair had “considered individually and then jointly agreed” that there might be “more suitable options” for Charles’ first overseas visit as monarch.
Clarke said: “I think it’s very different when you’re the host country for a big event like Cop to have the head of state attend than the head of state going to an event organized in Egypt.
“The normal course of things is for it to be run by the government, not the monarchy.”
Some have speculated that Truss’ move to advise the monarch not to attend the event signals that she may not prioritize net zero commitments.
However, Spencer said the government was “committed to net zero” and that it understood the “enormous economic opportunity” the policy had.
Although he did not attend the event in person, it is understood that the king still hopes to be able to contribute in some way to the conference.
While Boris Johnson has become an enthusiastic champion of the net zero cause, Truss is believed to be more skeptical of the environmental agenda as she has announced plans to achieve growth by loosening environmental regulations and restarting fracking.
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