When Sir Keir Starmer sat next to King Charles‘s right-hand man at a state banquet in June, it sparked speculation in royal circles that the courtier, Sir Clive Alderton, was being groomed to become our next ambassador to Washington.
But now Westminster sources claim that Sir Clive, a career diplomat who has served as private secretary to Charles and Camilla since 2022, has blotted his copybook with all-powerful No10 chief of staff Sue Gray after an alleged bust-up over access to a meeting between the King, Sir Keir and the actor Idris Elba.
The sources claim that Sir Clive caused tensions with Downing Street by banning political aides from descending on St James’s Palace for the The King’s Trust round-table event with Mr Elba in the week after Labour‘s election victory.
The star of Luther, who was once tipped to become the first black James Bond, has long campaigned to highlight the human cost of knife crime.
A source said: ‘The Palace made it clear that Sue’s advisers were not welcome and it p***** them off. It is fascinating to see how much power BP [Buckingham Palace] still has, but it won’t have helped Alderton’s chances of going to Washington.’
King Charles III and Idris Elba attending an event for The King’s Trust to discuss youth opportunity on July 12
Pictured: Sir Clive Alderton, who is the Principal Private Secretary to Prince Charles, at Royal Ascot in 2022
A royal insider said: ‘It has been the case since time immemorial that political advisers are not allowed to attend royal events. It is a long-held position established by the late Queen in order to preserve and protect the political neutrality of the sovereign.’
The insider added: ‘In this instance, it was especially appreciated that the Prime Minister was able to attend the event, ahead of his first formal audience with the King, given that he had returned from Washington only that morning.’
The current British ambassador to Washington, Dame Karen Pierce, is expected to leave her post at the end of the year.
Peter Mandelson is the most high-profile name associated with the role, although he says that he has not held talks about the job.
Rishi Sunak’s national security adviser Sir Tim Barrow had been lined up by Mr Sunak for the role, but within hours after Sir Keir’s victory in the election he was told by Ms Gray that he was not getting it.
Former foreign secretary David Miliband has also been tipped as a candidate.
Sir Clive joined the Foreign Office in 1986, serving in Poland, the EU, Singapore and France, before becoming deputy private secretary to Prince Charles and his wife in 2006.
He became ambassador to Morocco in 2012, then returned to work for Charles in 2015, becoming private secretary to the sovereign on Charles’s accession to the throne in 2022.
Sue Gray in her office in the Houses of Parliament, London in September last year
Sir Clive was seated next to Sir Keir during the state banquet held in honour of the visiting Emperor and Empress of Japan at Buckingham Palace, during the election campaign, where they feasted on poached langoustines, basil mousse, Cornish turbot, quail eggs and sorbet.
A Downing Street spokesman said: ‘It is not true that there was any issue with the meeting.
‘Sue was not personally involved in, or aware of, any of the conversations about the event.
‘On the ambassadorship, we’ve consistently said that we won’t be making a decision until we know the result of the presidential election because that will influence the choice.
‘So there isn’t yet a list for anyone to be either on or off.’