Charles to hold royal summit with Kate and William to decide future of monarchy
The King will hold a royal summit to lay out the future direction of the monarchy, sources reveal.
He will tell the Prince and Princess of Wales of his intention to carve out precise roles for them as well as himself and Queen Camilla. Central to his plans will be to use William and Kate’s “star quality” to help bind the Commonwealth together.
A source close to the King, who arrives at Balmoral on Monday, where the summit will be held, said: “His Majesty is very clear. The Commonwealth must be at the very heart of his reign. He sees it as his utmost duty to fulfil the sincere wish of his late mother, that one of his central roles must be to ensure not only the survival but the robustness (of the organisation).”
Charles will deliver objectives for at least the next year, including foreign travel, engagements and key aims. The source said The King sees the roles of William and Kate “being at the heart of cementing their own future and that of the monarchy at large”. Insiders suggest the King is very keen to capitalise on their increasing popularity with “The Princess’s undoubted star quality”, as one official described.
Camilla, left, The King, William and Kate (PA)William, 42, was voted top of a respected poll of Americans’ favourite global figures. In the autumn Charles and Camilla will travel to Kenya in East Africa. The trip will evoke memories of his mother, as Kenya was where the then Princess Elizabeth learned of the death of her father King George VI in February 1952, becoming Queen aged 25.
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Monarch and heir will hold summit (Getty Images)As one senior civil servant said of Charles “(he) hopes to use the symbolism tied into his mother’s legacy to offer a hand of friendship, which might get harder as the years go by”. Charles is also understood to have made plans to visit Canada and Australia next year, in line with requests from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
He will remind his closest family that the major Commonwealth realms must be brought closer to Britain. In the face of growing republicanism and the Prince and Princess of Wales’s disastrous tour of the Caribbean last year, the task has been described by senior officials in the Foreign Office as “gargantuan”.
Kate and William have taken on even more senior royal duties since the Queen's death last year (PA Archive/PA Images)Sources suggest William and Kate will get the chance to launch a charm offensive at carefully chosen destinations. One government insider said: “The Caribbean tour wasn’t a complete catastrophe, but it was a massive wake-up call. Simply turning up with a wave and a smile and a speech of friendship will not work any more.”
Palace officials hope William’s role in acknowledging the Windrush generation’s huge contribution to Britain will help dialogue with communities in the Caribbean and beyond. The King and Queen will be treated to the traditional welcome ceremony outside Balmoral Castle on Monday.
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