Andrew Bolt: Portents of a royal meltdown

When he was still Prince, Charles admitted it would be “stupid” to remain a climate change crusader when he is King. That seems to be forgotten now.

Alas, King Charles is even dumber than he himself predicted, and has earnt his first slap-down from the British government. That shows he shouldn’t listen to the even dumber advice of Anthony Albanese.

Four years ago, when he was still Prince, Charles was asked if he’d keep crusading on global warming as king.

“No, I’m not that stupid,” he snapped.

Alas, he is. On Sunday, after just three weeks as King, The Times reported Charles had planned to give a speech to the UN’s Cop27 climate change conference, in Egypt, until he was warned off.

True, Queen Elizabeth addressed the last conference, in Glasgow, but she was a famously non-political monarch.

Charles, though, is famously a climate extremist who in Glasgow called on world leaders to adopt a “warlike footing”.

King Charles has been a staunch climate change crusader.

So simply showing up in Egypt would send a political message, just when the new British government of Liz Truss is desperately winding back global warming policies so Britain has enough electricity next winter.

Naturally, Truss bristled at the King’s plan and told him to stay home. The Times quotes a “senior royal source” admitting the King “is not going to be attending Cop … entirely in the spirit of being ever mindful as King that he acts on government advice”.

But why did the King need reminding to live up his own mother’s example to keep out of politics when he’s the unelected head of state?

In his first speech as King, it seemed Charles had got that message: “It will no longer be possible for me to give so much of my time and energies to the charities and issues for which I care so deeply.”

Yet he caved at the first temptation. Should we blame our own Prime Minister for urging him to do what Britain’s Prime Minister didn’t want?

Albanese met Charles the day before the Queen’s funeral and told journalists it would be “appropriate” if he kept crusading because “climate change shouldn’t be seen as a political issue” when it involved our “survival as a world”.

Stupid talk. The world’s “survival” is not threatened, and fighting a fake climate catastrophe is very political, especially when it means the poor cannot afford to heat their homes.

Did Charles take heart from Albanese’s unconstitutional advice? How foolish, because Albanese won’t care if the King’s politicking backfires.

As a republican, he still wins, because even conservatives will ask why we’re taking political lectures from an unelected foreign king.