Keep me updated on Gaza, says King
Charles takes deaths to heart as Rishi issues warning to Israel
KING Charles has asked to be kept personally updated on the killing of three British military heroes delivering aid in Gaza, the Daily Mail can reveal.
His Majesty is taking a keen interest in developments over the deaths of former SBS hero John Chapman, 57, ex-Royal Marine James Henderson, 33, and former Rifleman James Kirby, 47.
Foreign Office staff posted to the Middle East received a memo from the monarch asking that he be kept abreast as the tragic news broke on Tuesday morning.
An email sent on his behalf requested an update by 4pm that day and another report later in the week, as insiders say he has taken the cause ‘to heart’.
It comes as Rishi Sunak last night said Israel’s conduct in its war with Hamas was becoming ‘increasingly intolerable’.
The Prime Minister said he had been ‘consistently clear’ with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, that he must act in accordance with international humanitarian law.
He he was ‘very clear’ with Mr Netanyahu in a phone call on Tuesday that ‘the situation is increasingly intolerable’. Mr Sunak
‘Actions of a caring monarch’
told The Sun that ‘what we urgently need to see is a thorough, transparent investigation into what has happened, but also a dramatic increase in the amount of aid getting into Gaza’.
He did not rule out suspending arms sales to Israel – amid mounting pressure over reports that parts of the Hermes 450 drones which killed the aid workers may have been made in Britain.
King Charles is understood to be particularly concerned, given his role as head of the Armed Forces and Captain General of the Royal Marines — the elite Commando unit in which both Mr Chapman and Mr Henderson served.
Royal observers say it is no surprise Charles would take their deaths to heart, given his attachment to both the Marines and the military.
Ingrid Seward, Editor in Chief of Majesty Magazine, said: ‘These are the actions of a caring monarch, as head of state, head of the Armed Forces and Captain General of the Royal Marines.’
Dickie Arbiter, who was press spokesman for Queen Elizabeth from 1998 to 2000, said Charles was following in his mother’s footsteps.
‘As head of state, obviously he’s concerned about British citizens in a war zone who volunteer for humanitarian purposes,’ Mr Arbiter told the Mail.
‘ They’ve been unfortunately killed in a conflict that seems to be getting out of control. In the normal course of events, he’d want to be kept informed – in the same way as his mother.’
It is understood His Majesty would have received clearance from No 10 before making the personal intervention, and there is no suggestion he is meddling in the politics of the region.
‘ He would have done it in conjunction with Rishi Sunak,’ Ms Seward insisted, adding that it demonstrates Charles’s understanding of the national mood.
‘The King is very good at understanding what gets to people, and this has really got to people. ‘Being a diplomat, I think he genuinely does want to be kept abreast of the situation.
‘He thinks this situation could cause all kinds of terrible damage. No one is very satisfied, but he would definitely not have done this just off his own back.’
The King has taken a personal interest in the conflict from the start, having spoken out shortly after the October 7 massacre to say he was appalled by the ‘bar
baric acts of terrorism’. But while his son, the Prince of Wales, was criticised for overstepping the mark in February after he commented on the humanitarian situation in Gaza and said ‘ too many have been killed’, Charles has been careful not to meddle, despite his very real concerns.
A royal insider said: ‘The King is very compassionate and has been particularly entrenched in the situation in Gaza since the outset, so I’m not surprised that he has asked to be kept updated.
‘He has intervened privately before in situations in the Arab world – for example, when people have been detained; and he does get involved in lots of personal issues. It’s all part of him trying to help as much as he can. This probably came up in his red boxes and as head of state it’s not an unusual thing to do, the Queen would have done something similar and liaised with the Foreign Office.’
Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron yesterday described the killings as ‘ dreadful’. As he arrived for a Nato meeting in Brussels, Lord Cameron told reporters: ‘The dreadful events of the last two days are a moment when we should mourn the loss of these brave humanitarian workers, including the three British citizens who tragically were killed.’ Mr Netanyahu has described the attack as unintended and ‘ tragic’, and has pledged to launch an independent inquiry.
But Lord [Peter] Ricketts, a former national security adviser, said there is ‘abundant evidence’ Israel ‘hasn’t been taking enough care to fulfil its obligations on the safety of civilians’.