King Charles makes subtle clothing choice after Rishi Sunak's spat with Greek PM

01 December 2023 , 14:51

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King Charles met Rishi Sunak at the COP28 summit in Dubai (Image: PA)

King Charles has worn a tie emblazoned with the Greek flag just days after Rishi Sunak got into a spat with the country's PM.

The monarch, whose father was Greek, was pictured in the garment as he bumped into the Prime Minister at the COP28 climate change summit in Dubai. Mr Sunak faced ridicule after he cancelled a meeting with Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday after he called for the Elgin Marbles to be returned to Athens from the British Museum.

Mr Sunak today rejected an accusation made by George Osborne that he threw a "hissy fit" over the artefacts, also known as the Parthenon Sculptures.

Asked if the former Chancellor who is now chairman of the British Museum was right to claim he'd had a tantrum, he said: "No, no. I think I’ve said everything I’ve got to say on this in parliament the other day and now I’m focused on delivering for people on the things they care about."

The PM insisted he was not worried Labour leader Keir Starmer - who did hold a meeting with Mr Mitsotakis on Monday - appeared more statesmanlike. Mr Sunak said: "No. If you look at the track record of my global diplomacy over the last year since I’ve had this job what have we done? We’ve got the Windsor Framework agreed, we’ve got the Aukus partnership with Australia and America, we’ve got Gcap which is the next generation of fighter jets with Japan and Italy."

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The tie worn by King Charles was made in Athens (PA)

This hat worn by the Queen in 2017 had a striking similarity to the EU flag (AFP/Getty Images)

He added that the UK is working with Albania, Turkey, Bulgaria, France, Italy and multiple others on illegal migration, adding: "So I feel pretty good about how we’ve conducted our foreign policy and engaged all our partners and allies around the world over the past year and delivered real benefits for the British people at home in investment and jobs and better security. And that’s what we’ll continue to do."

Greece has long demanded the return of the historic works, which were removed by Lord Elgin from occupied Athens in the early 19th century when he was the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. Part of friezes that adorned the 2,500-year-old Parthenon temple on the Acropolis, the Elgin Marbles have been displayed at the British Museum in London for more than 200 years. The remainder of the friezes are in a purpose-built museum in Athens.

In comments made on his podcast Political Currency, Mr Osborne reiterated that he has "been exploring with the Greek government on behalf of the museum" an arrangement that would allow the sculptures to be displayed in Greece.

The tie worn by the King is believed to have been made by Pagoni Maison des Cravates in Athens. He wore the same garment last week during the State Visit of the President of the Republic of Korea.

In 2017, Queen Elizabeth II wore a hat that had a striking similarity to the EU flag to the State Opening of Parliament.

Dave Burke