Kemi Badenoch to meet King Charles in revived royal practice

Alsharq Tribune- Independent

Kemi Badenoch is set to meet King Charles in Buckingham Palace on Monday, as he revives a tradition where the monarch holds a formal introduction with the leader of the opposition.

The King decided to revive the one-off meeting for whenever a new leader of the opposition is elected, alongside his weekly audiences with the Prime Minister, to underline the importance of parliamentary scrutiny in government.

A royal senior aide said: “It’s something that will happen now with each new leader of the opposition’” adding it was because Ms Badenoch “is leader of His Majesty’s opposition.” Another source told The Times that “the King is keen to meet certain MPs from time to time.”

The King has met Ms Badenoch on a number of occasions, in her former roles as privy council member and government minister. She last met him alongside Queen Camilla at a reception for new MPs and peers that took place last Wednesday, also attended by Keir Starmer and Nigel Farage.

But through this meeting, she will be the first Conservative opposition leader in 19 years to have a one-on-one audience with the monarch.

The late Queen dropped the practice after this meeting with David Cameron when he was elected as Tory opposition leader in 2006. The palace were unable to offer an official explanation as to why she halted the formal tradition.

Former leader of the opposition Jeremy Corbyn never had a one-to-one meeting with the late Queen in his four and a half years in the role.

Notably, she refused an urgent meeting with him and then-leader of the Liberal Democrats Jo Swinson in 2019 when they sought to prevent Boris Johnson from proroguing parliament. Aides said she would only grant the audience if Johnson agreed.

Privy counsellors can ask to meet the monarch, but the sovereign must seek permission from the prime minister if they are looking to influence political decisions, according to royal sources.

The Palace remains adamant that introductory audiences are different and the decision to hold one with the leader of the opposition does not need government approval.

King Charles has historically faced issues regarding his political interests, as The Times reported he called the Tory’s plans to deport migrants to Rwanda as “appalling” ahead of his own visit to the country in 2022.

When the policy was first announced, he issued an Easter message of the “unutterable tragedy” faced by those “forced to flee their country and seek shelter far from home”. Following criticism of the then-Prince, representatives restated he was “politically neutral” and would not comment on “supposed anonymous private conversations.”