Buckingham Palace Questions Charles III’s May 13 Parliament Role as Starmer Faces Leadership Crisis
Updated
Updated · POLITICO Europe · May 12
Buckingham Palace Questions Charles III’s May 13 Parliament Role as Starmer Faces Leadership Crisis
4 articles · Updated · POLITICO Europe · May 12
Buckingham Palace privately asked whether King Charles III should still proceed with Wednesday’s state opening of parliament as Keir Starmer’s leadership crisis deepened.
Palace officials told Starmer’s team the priority was to shield the monarch from any suggestion he was being drawn into a political struggle over the prime minister’s future.
People familiar with the exchanges said the message was blunt: the king should not become part of internal discussions around Starmer’s position or possible fallout.
The intervention underscores how a ceremonial constitutional event has become entangled with a fast-moving political crisis threatening to force Starmer from office.
Is the King's rare intervention a warning sign of a looming constitutional crisis for Britain?
With his party in open revolt, is Prime Minister Starmer's defiance a final gamble before his inevitable fall?
With UK borrowing costs soaring, can any new leader reverse the damage to Britain's economic credibility?