By Nicholas Earl
Prior to his coronation, King Charles III was the longest-serving heir to the throne in British history — spending seven decades being first in line for the crown.
During that time he expressed opinions on a wide range of issues, from modern architecture to alternative medicine, and was particularly vocal on the environmental challenges that climate change poses.
In many ways, the monarch was well ahead of the curve, detailing his worries over growing emissions and the ensuing damage as far back as the 1970 Countryside Conference, where he warned of the “horrifying effects of pollution in all its cancerous forms”.
Over the ensuing five decades, he has supported multiple charities and causes tied to the environment, and has not been afraid to make his views public.
At the G20 summit in Rome just two years ago, he labelled the then-upcoming Cop 26 climate summit in Glasgow as a “last chance saloon” for containing rising temperatures and easing the effects of global warming on the planet.
He has continued to express his concern for the planet in speeches as a reigning monarch, with the King warning the French senate in September that climate change remains “our most existential challenge”.
His Majesty is also on course to give the opening speech at Cop 28 in the UAE later this month.
In such circumstances, the focus will be on him tomorrow when he delivers the King’s Speech, where the government has announced plans to confirm annual oil and gas licencing rounds.
Downing Street has made the commitment to bolster supply security — with oil and gas exploration included in its energy strategy for the coming decades — while also reducing the emissions of fossil fuel production compared to relying on overseas vendors and global shipping.
This follows industry watchdog the North Sea Transition Authority confirming 27 new licences as part of the latest auction round for the offshore industry last week.
However, with the news following Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s decision to row back green pledges on fossil fuel-powered boilers and cars — there is now a growing dissonance between the King’s sense of urgency and Downing Street’s for pushing forward with net zero.
The Labour Party has predictably slammed the announcement, with shadow energy security and net zero secretary Ed Miliband warning the measures will “contribute to climate disaster”.
In his position as monarch, King Charles will not express his own views on government policy publicly — with even the speech itself written and approved by Downing Street, as per convention.
All eyes will instead be on how he delivers the speech, which is widely expected to include these oil and gas pledges.
No doubt, body language experts will be scrutinising whether a tone of dissatisfaction might be revealed with the government’s backing of oil and gas.
All humour aside, tomorrow could be the toughest test of the King’s pledged position of impartiality so far — with the government shifting towards an oil and gas agenda he will certainly be uncomfortable with.
While the King’s Speech will open parliament, it could also open a rift between the monarch and his government — which Sunak would do well to manage.
