A palace statement about the postponement of royal engagements due to the general election campaign has been described as “strange” and a “surprise” by a constitutional expert.
It turns out that Sky News understands that meetings were held today to discuss which commitments can continue and those that may have to be changed to be more appropriate during the next six weeks of heightened political sensitivity.
Speaking about yesterday’s statement, Craig Prescott, professor at Royal Holloway University and author of Modern Monarchy, said: “I thought it was strange. I don’t remember any previous general elections making any statement like this.
“I would have imagined that in previous election periods, they might have had a view of the proposed commitments and thought ‘maybe we won’t do this and that during the election, and let’s postpone that’.
“I think the surprise here is that they made this statement and are acting so publicly about all of this. I think, perhaps under the reign of Elizabeth IIAll of this could have been done a little more discreetly, and we never really realized it.”
Shortly after Rishi Sunak announced that he had spoken to King and was calling elections, Buckingham Palace said: “The Royal Family will – in accordance with normal procedure – Postponing commitments that may seem to distract from attention or divert attention from the election campaign.”
Palace sources are keen to stress that there is no variation in relation to what happened in previous elections and that, like all government departments, the palace is now in a “period of pre-election sensitivity”.
Suggesting the statement may be because this is the first election under a new monarch, Prescott added: “Charles comes to be king with a history of being involved in political issues in broad terms, you know, in a way that Elizabeth II never was, so I think maybe there’s a desire for there to be more caution about being seen as involved in political issues.
“And, you know, to make it very clear that there is a line and the King is going to stand on the right side of that line.”
Sky News understands this also caused disagreements within the royal household over whether postponing engagements was necessary.
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Both the king and Prince William were due to visit on Thursday. Photo: PA
Both the king and Prince William they were due to hold visits on Thursday and the King was due to go to Crewe on Friday, including a visit to a charity which helps people in financial difficulties.
All of the king’s and William’s engagements have involved elements of social issues, which some may view as political, but they are all topics that the monarch and heir have been involved with in the past.
Prince William’s visit was canceled due to “updated guidance” from Buckingham Palace.
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Craig Prescott believes this possibly exposes a recognition by the palace that the royals are now moving closer to the political line than in the past.
“I suppose the other point is that in some ways it’s an admission that some of the things they do are political,” he said.
“Because our general view of the monarchy is that it does things that are not politically controversial. And that’s an admission that they’re doing some things that are beyond the pale, but that’s not pushing the envelope.”
A garden party for the RNLI still took place at Buckingham Palace today. It is understood that all appointments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Members of the Royal Family will still participate in events commemorating D-Day.
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