The foreign secretary, James Cleverly, has rejected claims the king was drawn into political matters when meeting the European Commission president after a new Brexit deal was agreed. Ursula von der Leyen was welcomed to Windsor Castle on Monday, and took tea with King Charles. It led to the Democratic Unionist party and some Conservative Brexiters accusing the prime minister of dragging the monarch into politics, calling the moment “crass” and “controversial”. But Cleverly said it is “not unusual” for King Charles to meet senior international figures while they were in the UK, adding the monarch had met the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, during his visit earlier in February.
Cleverly told LBC radio: “Ursula von der Leyen is a very senior international representative. It is therefore not unusual as part of our hospitality to international guests to facilitate a meeting. “It was our invitation for Ursula von der Leyen to come to the UK to finalise this deal with the prime minister. Of course that was a conversation we had with the palace. The final decision on the availability of his majesty is with the palace.” Asked who had arranged Von der Leyen’s meeting with the king, Cleverly told Sky News: “Decisions about the king’s diary are, rightly, for the palace.” There was outrage among some politicians after the meeting was announced. Jacob Rees-Mogg said it was wrong to involve the king in the “immediate political controversy” on the day the prime minister signed a new agreement – the Windsor framework – with Von der Leyen.
Arlene Foster, the former Democratic Unionist party (DUP) leader and former first minister of Northern Ireland, said the meeting in Windsor Castle was “crass and will go down very badly”. Sammy Wilson, the DUP’s chief whip, was also deeply critical of the timing of the meeting, saying it risked “dragging the king into a hugely controversial political issue”. From the Labour party, the MP Chris Bryant said it was a “terrible mistake from the government – we should never bring the monarchy into political disputes”. Representatives for the government and the palace failed to clarify who had made the decision to arrange a face-to-face meeting. Buckingham Palace said the king was acting on “the government’s advice”. Downing Street said it was “fundamentally” a decision for the king. Giving details of the meeting, Von der Leyen said: “We discussed the joint challenges the EU and UK face as historic partners, and our joint duties: unwavering support for Ukraine and fighting global climate change.”