King Charles, stepping back from campaigning, will not go to Egypt climate summit

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s King Charles will not attend a world leaders’ climate change summit in Egypt next month, a royal source said on Sunday, as the new monarch steps back from his previous high-profile campaigning roles.

Buckingham Palace sought government advice about the United Nations COP27 summit and it was unanimously agreed that it would not be right for Charles to visit in person for what would be his first overseas trip as sovereign, the source said.

There had been no confirmation that Charles would attend the meeting before he became king last month following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth, the source said.

Charles spoke at the opening ceremony of the COP26 summit in Glasgow in 2021, which he described as a “last chance saloon” to save the world from climate change, after the queen pulled out on doctors’ advice.

The Sunday Times newspaper reported that Charles had been told not to go to Egypt by new Prime Minister Liz Truss, dashing his plans to deliver a speech at the conference.

The newspaper quoted a Downing Street source as saying a recent meeting between Charles and Truss had been cordial and there had not been a row.

The new king campaigned for the environment and other issues while heir but he said last month that it would no longer be possible “to give so much of my time and energies to the charities and issues for which I care so deeply”.

(Reporting by Michael Holden; Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Nick Macfie)