Just after his coronation, King Charles saddled up his horse and made a surprise trip to Northern Ireland. It wasn’t such a big surprise, considering Buckingham Palace organized a garden party, a meet-and-greet and a very gross-looking cake. The Windsors’ trips to Northern Ireland always have to be a “surprise” because even decades after the Good Friday Agreement, the royals are terrified that they’ll be targeted by Irish Republicans. So their movements are kept pretty quiet. Anyway, their quick visit to Northern Ireland did not include a stopover in the Republic of Ireland. Charles and Camilla haven’t been to Ireland since March 2022. They did a days-long tour of the republic during the same time frame as William and Kate’s Caribbean Flop Tour disaster. It was pretty funny, especially because Charles had the time of his life in Ireland, dancing jigs, glad-handing and flirting with Irish lasses. Weirdly, Irish people seem to really like Charles. So, strange news? Charles is snubbing Ireland this year. The palace was trying to schedule another trip to Ireland for months but they’ve given up.
King Charles III will not be visiting Ireland in the autumn and no visits have been scheduled for the remainder of this year, The Sunday Times can reveal. The British monarch was expected to visit the Republic in June for his first state visit since he was crowned but because of scheduling difficulties the date was pushed back. Numerous government sources have now confirmed “that there are no planned visits to Ireland for 2023”.
The King had expressed his desire to make the Republic his first post-coronation overseas visit as a gesture to acknowledge the importance of Anglo-Irish relations. Leo Varadkar, who attended the ceremony, had welcomed the news. Describing the relationship between the countries, the taoiseach said: “We have deep political, economic, cultural and personal links with Britain, which provided a welcome home to so many of our citizens for generations.”
The King and Queen’s first official visit outside England after the coronation was a two-day trip to Northern Ireland in late May.
In 2019 Charles, then Prince of Wales, said that he wanted eventually to visit every county in Ireland. “I must say I’m slightly amazed to find we’ve managed to visit 15 counties already. I am quite determined before I drop dead and finally lose my marbles that I should get around to the remaining 17.” Charles frequently visited Ireland while he was Prince of Wales but a trip to the Republic now would be only the second official visit by a British monarch since Irish independence.
Security preparations on behalf of the Irish state had been under way for the King’s prospective trip, which would probably have been for three to four days.
What the hell is this about? It’s like Buckingham Palace is making a point of refusing to say why Charles and Camilla can’t or won’t travel to Ireland. It really would have just been a three or four day tour and it would have been historic. Charles would have been guaranteed a warm welcome too – I remember how well-received he was just last year. This feels different than the postponed trip to France too. He was supposed to go to France before the coronation, only the French people were mid-riot, so President Macron had to tell Chaz not to come. There’s no political or logistic reason to avoid Ireland. Maybe Camilla simply didn’t want to travel? How much bloody time will they spend in Scotland for their summer holiday? Hm.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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- King Charles III and Queen Camilla take a seat on a bench designed by pupils from Belfast’s Blythefield Primary School who have taken part in Historic Royal Palaces’ competition to design Coronation benches at Hillsborough Castle, Co Down during a two day visit to Northern Ireland. Featuring: King Charles III and Queen Camilla Where: Co Down, United Kingdom When: 24 May 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- King Charles III and Queen Camilla open a new Coronation Garden in Newtownabbey and meet the designers of the garden and representatives of community and charitable organisations, hearing how the garden marks the beginning of a new green initiative for the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council, during a two day visit to Northern Ireland. Featuring: King Charles III and Queen Camilla Where: Co Down, United Kingdom When: 24 May 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- King Charles III and Queen Camilla arriving at Hillsborough Castle, Co Down during a two day visit to Northern Ireland. Featuring: King Charles III and Queen Camilla Where: Co Down, United Kingdom When: 24 May 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- King Charles III and Queen Camilla stand for the national anthem during a Garden Party at Hillsborough Castle, Co Down during a two day visit to Northern Ireland. Featuring: King Charles III and Queen Camilla Where: Co Down, United Kingdom When: 24 May 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Queen Camilla attends a Garden Party at Hillsborough Castle, Co Down during a two day visit to Northern Ireland. Featuring: Queen Camilla Where: Co Down, United Kingdom When: 24 May 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- King Charles III during his visit to St Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh, Co Armagh, to meet representatives from the Church of Ireland, the Roman Catholic Church, the Presbyterian Church, the Methodist Church and the Irish Council of Churches, as part of a two day visit to Northern Ireland. Featuring: King Charles III Where: Armagh, United Kingdom When: 25 May 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Queen Camilla during a visit to Robinson Library, Armagh, Co Armagh, to continue her work to foster a love of reading across all ages as part of a two day visit to Northern Ireland. Featuring: Queen Camilla Where: Armagh, United Kingdom When: 25 May 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Queen Camilla meets Camilla Nowawakowska aged 8 and Charles Murray aged 8 from Armstrong primary school Armagh outside St Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh, Co Armagh, during a two day visit to Northern Ireland. Featuring: Queen Camilla Where: Armagh, United Kingdom When: 25 May 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- King Charles III and Queen Camilla during a visit to Market Theatre Square, Armagh, Co Armagh, as part of a two day visit to Northern Ireland. Featuring: King Charles III, Queen Camilla Where: Armagh, United Kingdom When: 25 May 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- King Charles III (right) during a visit to Market Theatre Square, Armagh, Co Armagh, as part of a two day visit to Northern Ireland. Featuring: King Charles III Where: Armagh, United Kingdom When: 25 May 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Queen Camilla samples local drinks and meets artisanal food producers during a visit to Market Theatre Square, Armagh, Co Armagh, as part of a two day visit to Northern Ireland. Featuring: Queen Camilla Where: Armagh, United Kingdom When: 25 May 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- King Charles III and Queen Camilla during a visit to Enniskillen Castle, Co Fermanagh as part of a two day visit to Northern Ireland. Featuring: King Charles III and Queen Camilla Where: Enniskillen, United Kingdom When: 25 May 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
The Irish gave Biden a huge welcome and he was obviously adored there. Charles is so insecure and petty. So much for statesman like and soft diplomacy.
I bet you’re right. He’s chafed that Biden got a better reception than he ever did in his entire life.
Oh @ seaflower I bet you are right!!! KFCIII couldn’t possibly visit Ireland after the spectacular display of love, admiration and support that Biden experienced while in Ireland!!!
This poor pathetic excuse of a King of Mediocre Britain, (they lost the title of Great Britain IMO), is becoming clearly into the mindset of poor, unpopular Charles!!
Gee and I am so sure Ireland is just soooooo sad about it. How will they go on? 🙄
While we are at it, can we make sure Canada is also left out of this narrative? That would be great K thanks bye!!
and please leave Australia 🇦🇺 out of it as well.
No to a freebie on the taxpayer by Mr Burns and Olive Oyl.
Yes, I would be thrilled if our Governor General, who appears to not suffer fools gladly, scuppered any visit to Canada by KFC and his mistress queen. Our GG, Mary Simon, is Inuk and the first Indigenous person to hold the office. Our First Nations peoples have long memories, and he and the mistress queen flopped when they visited here in 2022.
I’m Irish and it’s not that the Irish like Charles, instead we are generally friendly and polite to all visitors. Obviously there are exceptions to this but most Irish people will always make an effort to be friendly and welcoming
Of course! And now that Ireland is a republic, most Irish, unlike Scotland and Wales, have no grievance with the royals. Charles would be more popular everywhere if only the monarchy were abolished. 😉
You have it 100% right.
We politely welcome all visitors and hope they have a wonderful experiences during their stay. Repeated visits, especially to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee or the coronation of a new monarch are not necessary or welcome. We are not British, nor part of the commonwealth so repeated visits are simply costly for us.
I have Irish friends in the Republic. They absolutely hate the monarchy and resent that the nobility still owns so much land in Ireland. I’m surprised KC has gotten warm welcomes there. And I’m curious as to why there’s such difficulty planning this latest visit.
If you check on Irish news lately, there has been a lot of security concerns, especially in Dublin. Lots of crime and violent attacks, additional forces were brought in. So it could be just a security issue
Actually, one attack, one American tourist was attacked. He was in the wrong part town at night, somewhere I’d never visit after dark. Hopefully he makes a good recovery.
Which area so I can avoid when I go back?
Hi Andrea, like ANY city, avoid going out alone after dark, keep away from dark side streets. Keep valuables in your hotel safe and don’t carry too much cash. I’ve done that in Paris, London, Naples, Cologne, Washington DC, Manila and yes, in Dublin too, it’s common sense.
Avoid the area north of the Liffey in general, but especially after dark.
I’m sure not everyone in Ireland is so fond of Charles. It’s possible that security got wind of something and waved the royals off. Or, maybe Charles and Camilla are just getting lazy like W&K.
Maybe it’s because the racist assholes who pushed Brexit just waved away the EU/UK border issue, pretending that the Good Friday accord didn’t exist. Being anti-Irish is how you prove you’re an old school bigot in the that crowd. Wouldn’t be surprised at all to learn that one of the “courtiers” is effing things up for shits and giggles.
I think it’s not BP not saying why he can’t go, it is the government. The Tory government has spent the past 3 years wrecking relations with Ireland and the EU. Charles will end up being asked or his presence will highlight the difficulties in pulling out of the EU and the impact on the hard borders within Ireland and the concerns of returning to barricades and civil war. Companies have moved their headquarters to Dublin from London or downgraded their London offices and expanded their Dublin ones over Brexit. Priti Patel threatened to starve Ireland over EU resistance to border checks etc in an deliberate harkening back to the famine. We just heard the royals are frustrated at the slowness of the home office in approving overseas trips. It’s the Home Office refusing to allow this.
Yes, this – it extends right off of the article yesterday.
Oh god charles is SO not guaranteed a warm welcome. The opposite aside from the history, the cost and disruption from a security perspective…the Queen’s visit was historic yes but we do not like the British monarchy.
Joe ruined it for him.
@freeshalori, he sure did, and I say good for Joe! Charlie has already lost his marbles, his temper tantrums are getting worse and he can’t disguise them any more! Ireland is a warm welcoming county, both sides of the border, which cannot be said for mainland GB. Treat the people with warmth and respect and you will get it back! Brexit and good Friday agreement are always in the background, but as a rule like I have said, you will get back what you give out
There’s history. Some Irish don’t have a fondness for the British Monarch. Charles is the monarch now therefore head of state of the UK. The Queen rarely visited Ireland for the same reason – history and politics.
I can only assume the Irish who met with Charlie during the last visit were heavily curated. The younger ones might see them more as soap opera characters but the older gens will be less likely to be rolling out any red carpet where frivolity might abound. That’s not to say they’d not be polite and diplomatic with him.
As for their visit not happening, I suspect it might be partly Camilla’s lack of interest in traveling and possible security concerns. Has becoming Monarch put a larger target on his back? Can they even be bothered at this point?
Ireland and Britain are or were major trade partners. Giving a warm diplomatic greeting to the head of state of your major trade partner you beat in a civil war 100 years before, making his first public trip since the IRA blew up a swath of his family, who spends the trip willing to be good fun, is just good business. If anything it shows strength – Britain is no threat to them.
@Blujfly:
And all of those points have been made in previous visits – QEII’s state visit in 2011, her attendance at the Islandbridge commemoration and the Garden of Remembrance, her meeting with McGuinness. Charles himself met with McGuinness in 2015 and shook his hand (seen as a hugely symbolic gesture given his role in the PIRA at the time of Mountbatten’s assassination). The (then) Cambridges and Sussexes have made official visits.
Since then Brexit has cast a significant shadow on UK-Irish trade relations, and members of the UK cabinet (like Davis, Patel) have made public disparaging remarks. These things change the tone of diplomatic relations, though not enough to warrant a “snub” on Charles’ part.
Let’s not forget that Varadkar’s partner conducted a real-time play-by-play of the Coronation, breaking the “rules” by sending pics and delightful snark to friends in a group chat. I guarantee Charles hasn’t forgotten.
Omg, I -had- forgotten this! It was brilliant how bent out of shape they were. Thanks for the reminder, PunkPrincessPhD!
He doesn’t want to be compared to Biden, as he knows his reception will pale in comparison.
My all-time favorite column on Irish people’s view of the British monarchy was penned by Patrick Freyne of The Irish Times:
“Having a monarchy next door is a little like having a neighbour who’s really into clowns and has daubed their house with clown murals, displays clown dolls in each window and has an insatiable desire to hear about and discuss clown-related news stories. More specifically, for the Irish, it’s like having a neighbour who’s really into clowns and, also, your grandfather was murdered by a clown.”
That is BRILLIANT!!
God help me but I’m laughing so hard at “also, your grandfather was murdered by a clown.”
The thrill is gone. After the perfect meal of Biden’s visit, the rancid entrails of a Chuckles visit lacks appeal.