Charles to Skip Climate Summit

Prime minister counseled against the trip, now that he's king
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 2, 2022 1:00 PM CDT
Charles to Skip Climate Summit
Prince Charles addresses a reception at COP26 last November in Glasgow, Scotland. The new king won't be attending this year's summit.   (Stefan Rousseau/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's King Charles has bowed to the different requirements of his new job and will not attend the global climate change conference in Egypt next month. Charles, who long campaigned on environmental causes as prince, accepted the counsel of Prime Minister Liz Truss, Buckingham Palace officials said Sunday. Before ascending to the throne last month, Charles had planned to go, the BBC reports. Palace aides told the Guardian that discussions are being held about finding a way to nonetheless have Charles represented at Cop27, which is scheduled to run Nov. 6-18.

Then the Prince of Wales, Charles gave a speech at the opening ceremony of Cop26 in Scotland last year; his mother, Queen Elizabeth, also spoke to the attendees, on video. A senior Conservative lawmaker said he hoped the decision, which the palace said was a joint one, would be reversed. Tobias Ellwood called the king a "globally respected voice" on the environment and said his presence would add authority to the UK's Cop27 delegation. The UK's rules for its constitutional monarchy call for all official foreign trips by the royal family to be taken with the advice of the government, per the AP. Charles has acknowledged that he'll have less freedom to address issues now that he has the top job. (More King Charles III stories.)

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