European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was in the English city of Windsor to sign a compromise agreement on Brexit. She was then received by Charles III at the royal castle. And the criticism came from both the left and the right. Neither the royal office nor the British government wants to take responsibility for this.
When the son of the late Queen Elizabeth II. upon taking the throne, he reportedly made it clear that he would not get too involved in politics—even less so than the longtime monarch. Six months later, some politicians accuse him of precisely such interference.
In Windsor, about thirty kilometers from London, von der Leyen held talks with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. They reached a new agreement on the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol on a special boundary between the Republic of Ireland and British Northern Ireland. They drank tea together and posed for photographers. “It was a moment with a distinctly regal flair – captured in Windsor Town Hall, where (as a prince) Charles married Camilla, under towering portraits of past monarchs.” Guardian commented.
under the care of Elizabeth
King George V and his wife Mary looked down on von der Leyen on the podium in the representative space from the portrait, and at Elizabeth II from the sides. and her husband Philip. Then the chairman of the trade union committee moved on to another cup of tea. In the photographs where she is met by the assistant to the king and the personal secretary, she glows.
At the end of her life, Elizabeth moved to Windsor, partly due to covid lockdown, partly due to the reconstruction of Buckingham Palace.
Sunak’s critics condemn the prime minister’s attempts to drag the monarch into political squabbles. “I can’t believe the prime minister would ask the king to be involved in a controversial deal like this.” Arlene Foster of the pro-British DUP party tweeted for many years Northern Ireland First Minister. “This is tactless and will not work in Northern Ireland. We must remember that this is not a decision of the king, but of the government.”
“It threatens to drag the king into a highly contentious political issue,” added her party colleague Sammy Wilson from the leadership of the DUP faction.
Former British minister, Brexit Secretary and Sunak’s colleague in the Conservative Party, Jacob Rees-Mogg, in turn, said that the monarch should only intervene in the whole process when “everything is completed and accepted.” At the same time, Parliament has not yet dealt with the agreement. “I think His Majesty should not interfere until this agreement has received full support,” Rees-Mogg said. Even some members of the left-wing Labor Party, which is more positive about the European Union, criticized the royal meeting because of the possible constitutional implications.
Accidentally in Windsor
As the royal correspondent of the Sky News channel noted, the timing of the negotiations is important. With King Charles III. because von der Leyen met just minutes after she spoke at a press conference with Rishi Sunak. “To some it may seem that the king thus shows that he supports the agreement.” Laura Bundock said.
The Government Office, or “Number 10”, assures that the Prime Minister’s meeting with the head of the commission in the city of Windsor and in a setting strongly reminiscent of the monarchy was purely accidental, and not an attempt to send a signal to the Northern Irish monarchists or indicate that the King approved such an agreement. Although Elizabeth II. she followed politics and had her own opinion, which she did not share even during regular confidential audiences with prime ministers. It is not even known yet how she felt about Brexit.
Even now, Buckingham Palace assured that the monarch was not acting of his own free will, but “on the advice of the government”; he allegedly discussed with von der Leyen not only the Brexit debate, but “a number of topics”, including Ukraine and climate change. The number 10, on the other hand, indicates that the meeting was a palace initiative.
Sunak spokesman Max Blaine said the government would never involve the king in politics. “His Majesty has recently met with a number of foreign leaders, in this case the same.” the spokesman added, mentioning, for example, Polish President Andrzej Duda or Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky. But the European Union is not a country, and even if it were, the chairman of the commission would not be at the level of a head of state.
The Daily Mail quoted a government source as saying that the European Commission had requested clearance. “It was not a request and we didn’t expect it” Brussels responded.
It is quite possible that it was not politics at all – the German von der Leyen positions herself as a passionate Anglophile and a lover of island history. He already has a photo with Queen Elizabeth, the year before last – the monarch hosted the G7 summit, which, in addition to the seven heads of government or state, is also attended by EU leaders. Now she has replenished her “collection” with another king. “Reporters leaving the press conference ran into von der Leyen at the entrance to the City Hall, excitedly returning to the historic hall to look at the royal portraits.” added Guardian.
Source: Blesk