Buckingham Palace sends apology as it breaks silence after Rishi Sunak announcement
King Charles and Queen Camilla send their apologies to anyone affected after Buckingham Palace announced postponing engagements which would clash with the recently announced election campaign.
The Royal Family is to postpone engagements “which may appear to divert attention or distract from the election campaign”, Buckingham Palace announced on Wednesday evening. A Palace spokesperson said: “Following the Prime Minister’s statement this afternoon calling a General Election, The Royal Family will – in accordance with normal procedure – postpone engagements that may appear to divert attention or distract from the election campaign.
“Their Majesties send their sincere apologies to any of those who may be affected as a result.” King Charles could be set for the third prime minister of his reign after Rishi Sunak called a General Election on Wednesday evening, with Charles agreeing to his request to dissolve Parliament. The King’s first prime minister was Liz Truss – but her stint in charge was the shortest in British history – and the King welcomed Mr Sunak as his second PM just six weeks after acceding to the throne. Mr Sunak revealed he spoke with King earlier on Wednesday to inform him of his decision and the King had agreed to the request for the dissolution of Parliament.
The King, who is still undergoing treatment for cancer, returned to public-facing engagements in April and now has a number of duties ahead of him after Mr Sunak announced his plan for the country to go to the polls on July 4. The Prime Minister said in a speech that he spoke with the monarch to request the dissolution of Parliament. Mr Sunak said from Downing Street: “The King has granted this request and we will have a General Election on July 4.” Buckingham Palace has yet to comment on when the King spoke with Mr Sunak and whether the conversation was in person, online or by telephone, PA reports.
The King was also due to hold a Privy Council meeting afterwards, but it is not yet clear whether this went ahead. Dissolution is the official term for the end of a parliament. The date of the dissolution is set by a Royal Proclamation issued by the King, on the advice of his prime minister, and timed to allow for the polling day to occur on Mr Sunak’s chosen date. For a July 4 election, this is May 30. Earlier today, Charles was all smiles at Buckingham Palace as he was pictured hosting the winners of The Prince’s Trust awards.
The engagement went ahead as planned, without any changes to timings. The King has an engagement scheduled for Thursday and is travelling to Crewe for a day trip on Friday to visit the Bentley factory, before gearing up for the busy D-Day 80th anniversary commemorations at the start of June. The sovereign does not vote and is a constitutional monarch who must remain politically neutral.
