King’s von der Leyen talks ‘have put monarchy at risk’

THE King has placed the monarchy ‘in jeopardy’ by meeting EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and will ‘come to regret’ it, a senior DUP MP warned yesterday.

Charles found himself at the heart of a political row for agreeing to have tea with the EU commission head at Windsor Castle straight after the new Brexit agreement was announced on Monday.

The DUP is furious about the meeting, and has accused the King of ‘politicising the monarchy’ by appearing to take sides over the controversial post-Brexit deal for Northern Ireland. Sammy Wilson, the DUP’s Brexit spokesman, told the Telegraph’s Chopper’s Politics podcast: ‘It’s a decision that the

King will come to regret in the future. I don’t know whether it was his choice, or whether the Government persuaded him to do it, but I think it’s a very, very dangerous position for him to have taken.

‘As governments have come and gone, and governments have betrayed us, the one stable thing that stayed in that was the monarchy.’

Mr Wilson said he did not know why the King met Mrs von der Leyen, adding: ‘The King has to explain that. But the one thing I do know is that it is a bad decision. And if he keeps going down this route and politicising the monarchy, then the status that his mother had, he will never acquire. And he will put the monarchy in jeopardy because people will simply see it as partisan rather than a national institution.’

Buckingham Palace made clear on Monday that Charles was acting on ‘the Government’s advice’ when he met Mrs von der Leyen – but Downing Street said it was ‘fundamentally’ a decision for the King.

A spokesman for Charles said: ‘The King is pleased to meet any world leader if they are visiting Britain and it is the Government’s advice that he should do so.’ It is understood that a ‘broad range’ of issues were discussed, including climate change and Ukraine.