King to 'host Rishi Sunak at Balmoral' as he continues late Queen's tradition
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is set to meet with King Charles this weekend during a trip to Balmoral Castle.
The visit to the royal estate comes ahead of Parliament returning from recess on Monday. It is not uncommon for the sitting Prime Minister to visit Balmoral, with the late Queen creating the tradition of inviting the incumbent to Scotland for a weekend in the summer.
The late Queen's meeting with then leader Liz Truss was held in the green drawing room at Balmoral days before her death in September last year, with the then monarch's final ever public picture taken during the visit.
Former prime minister Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie visited the estate around the same time the year before, and the late Queen met their son Wilfred for the first time. Mr Sunak's visit is expected to coincide with the Braemar Gathering nearby tomorrow.
King Charles seen at the gates of Balmoral on August 21 as he takes up summer residence there (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)The event is considered a favourite of the royals, with Charles regularly in attendance alongside his late mother over the years. The Royal Family are currently seeing out their summer holidays at the royal estate, and were spotted attending a church service there last Sunday.
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The Prince and Princess of Wales were also seen driving to Crathie Kirk, and were joined by Prince Andrew. Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, were accompanied by Anne, the Princess Royal, as well as Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence.
The late Queen's lady-in-waiting, Lady Susan Hussey, was also pictured among those heading to church. The gathering of royals was thought to be one of the largest since the late Queen's passing.
During the King's arrival to the castle the week previous, a small ceremony was held outside the gates with a Guard of Honour. Shetland pony Corporal Cruachan IV, mascot of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, received a rub on the nose from the King - who was recently announced as Colonel-in-Chief, succeeding his mother in the role.
The late Queen always spent her summers at Balmoral, welcoming various members of her family at different points throughout her stay, for a break in the Scottish countryside. During his visit, the King is planning to hold a royal summit to lay out the future direction of the monarchy, sources revealed.
King Charles inspects Balaklava Company as he arrives at Balmoral (PA)He is expected to tell the Prince and Princess of Wales of his intention to carve out precise roles for them as well as for himself and Queen Camilla. A source close to the King earlier 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.
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' disastrous tour of the Caribbean last year, the task has been described by senior officials in the Foreign Office as "gargantuan".
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