King Charles Gives Major Announcement on Monarchy

King Charles III announced he is suspending a number of royal engagements less than a month after his return to work due to a general election in Britain.

The monarch, 75, had his first public visit in months on April 30 and on May 9 said he had been “allowed out of my cage” during a visit to a barracks.

However, less than a month into his return to public duties, he has again had to scrap any visits that would distract from a general election called by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

A statement from the king and Queen Camilla read: “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.”

While the move may be in keeping with convention, it is a blow to Charles and Buckingham Palace who had a busy program lined up for June which will now be under threat.

The election has been called for July 4, meaning events planned between now and then could face the chop.

Already, the king has scrapped a planned trip to Crewe, in Cheshire, where he would have visited high end car manufacturer Bentley and a community center, on Friday.

Some will still go ahead, including his attendance at events commemorating the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings on June 6.

However, it is not yet clear whether a state visit by the Emperor and Empress of Japan will have to be postponed.

The king also has a potential big leadership moment coming up in June when it is due to be his birthday parade, Trooping the Colour.

He had a big decision to make about whether, at 75 and while still undergoing treatment for cancer, he could ride on horseback or whether he would be consigned to the Buckingham Palace balcony. The Daily Telegraph reported recently that he was expected to aim for the balcony only.

Either way, photographs of the royals on the balcony of Buckingham Palace are iconic and Trooping regularly draws big crowds.

And it is still hypothetically not impossible Princess Kate could make an appearance on the balcony, though all signs from Kensington Palace so far are that off work means fully out of the limelight.

Her children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, are regularly stars of the show.

It is not clear whether it will have to be canceled, the issue does not usually arise since most general elections take place in May.

The best recent precedent may be the Brexit referendum which took place on June 23, 2016, less than two weeks after Trooping the Colour, which went ahead as planned on June 11. The pre-election period, known as purdah in Britain, had begun before Trooping, on May 27.

And Charles will also have a new major date added to his diary as a new prime minister will bring a new session of Parliament, meaning a State Opening ceremony on July 17.

Needless to say, for the monarchy it is a descent back into chaos just as some normality appeared to be taking hold.

Sunak, speaking outside Downing Street in pouring rain with no umbrella, said on Wednesday: “Earlier today I spoke to His Majesty the King to request the dissolution of Parliament. The King has granted this request and we will have a general election on the 4th of July.”

Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek‘s The Royals Facebook page.

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