King Charles leaves Stella McCartney flustered with kiss after royal etiquette fail
King Charles left fashion designer Stella McCartney flustered after she forgot how to greet him at a Buckingham Palace reception ahead of the the UN climate change summit COP27.
The King hosted the reception for politicians and business figures from across the globe with notable guests also including the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and John Kerry, the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate.
Mr Sunak was seen introducing the daughter of Beatle Sir Paul McCartney to the King, who have met and worked together several times in the past when he was Prince of Wales.
Charles greeted her with kisses on the cheeks as Stella said: “Your Majesty, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do any more.”
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She then followed up with: “I think I’m supposed to do this now” before performing a deep curtsy and letting out a little squeal, leaving the King and PM giggling.
Mr Sunak revealed how he saw a lot of the fashion designer as their children went to the same school.
Charles thanked them for attending the event and the Prime Minister replied: “It’s all about what you’ve done.”
The reception, for more than 200 guests comes after Mr Sunak reversed his decision to skip Cop27 in Egypt next week, bowing to pressure from activists, his own environment adviser and Boris Johnson. Despite No 10’s U-turn, the King is still not planning to attend Cop27.
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Downing Street acknowledged on Thursday that the King might have been able to join delegates in Egypt for COP27 if the Prime Minister had been in office earlier in the year.
When Liz Truss was premier, a “unanimous agreement” was reached that the King should not attend after advice was sought by his office from the Government.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said on Thursday it was now not “logistically feasible” for the King to join the international gathering at Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.
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She said about Mr Sunak, who only took office last week following the dramatic resignation of Ms Truss: “We do recognise that had the Prime Minister been in post earlier, the situation might have been different but it is not logistically feasible at this late stage.”
A Buckingham Palace spokesman reiterated there had been “unanimous agreement” with the Government that the King would not travel to Egypt for the summit.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, Prince William appeared to throw shade at Mr Sunak by urging the world not to be distracted by “turbulent times” and lose sight of the importance of protecting the natural world.
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William made the comments at the Tusk Conservation Awards, and at that time the PM was not planning to attend Cop27, with Downing Street saying Mr Sunak was focusing on “depressing domestic challenges”.
And at the awards ceremony held at Hampton Court Palace and attended by celebrity supporters like singer Katherine Jenkins and Dragon’s Den star Deborah Meaden, William said: “We are living through turbulent times and it is all too easy to lose sight of how critical it is that we look after our natural world.
“But we must remain focused on investing in nature and the environment, protecting it for future generations.
“We must not pass on the baton to our children and grandchildren, apologising for our lack of collective action.”
However, just hours after William’s words, today Mr Sunak reversed his decision to skip Cop27 and confirmed he will attend the climate summit in Egypt next week.