Buckingham Palace blocked a government proposal to sign the post-Brexit Windsor Framework at Windsor Castle, concerned that it would appear too political and embroil King Charles in controversy, a new book claims. The revelation comes from the revised paperback edition of Power and the Palace by Valentine Low, serialised in The Times.
Government Sought Windsor Castle Venue for Post-Brexit Deal
In February 2023, the UK and European Union reached a legal agreement governing the movement of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Politicians reportedly did not want to sign the deal in Brussels, and the European Commission opposed signing at No 10 Downing Street. They proposed a third option: naming it the Windsor Framework and signing it at Windsor Castle to make the deal more appealing to the EU and less transactional. However, Buckingham Palace agreed to the name but deemed a signing at the castle “going too far,” according to Low.
Palace Feared Political Risk for King Charles
Low writes: “The palace wanted to do what they could to support stability in Northern Ireland, and it was an area in which they were prepared to take some risk. But they knew they could be walking into a minefield, and wanted reassurance that the government would have their back.” The Palace was concerned that, given King Charles had ascended the throne only in September 2022 and his coronation was not until May 2023, his involvement could pose a significant risk and appear “too political.”
When the government suggested signing at Windsor Castle, the Palace swiftly rejected the idea. “Near the castle was OK, but at the castle wasn’t,” Low writes. Instead, the signing took place at the Fairmont Hotel in Windsor Great Park, approximately four miles from the castle. The Palace also stipulated that any meeting between King Charles and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen must be separate from the signing.
Separate Meeting and Signing Arranged
On February 27, 2023, King Charles met von der Leyen for tea at Windsor Castle, just after she gave a joint press conference at the Fairmont Windsor Park hotel with then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak following the deal’s conclusion. The Palace stated at the time that the audience was arranged on the advice of the UK government. Jacob Rees-Mogg, a Brexit-backing Conservative MP and former Cabinet minister, criticised the meeting as “constitutionally unwise to involve the King in a matter of immediate political controversy.”
The Windsor Framework was ultimately signed on March 24, 2023, by then-Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic in London.
