A royal source has denied that a Buckingham Palace official put pressure on the Welsh government to stop the King being criminally liable under a new law.
Despite the Guardian alleging a courtier "demanded assurances" His Majesty could not be prosecuted under last year's Agriculture (Wales) Act when it was being drawn up, no objections were made by the Welsh government, and the Buckingham Palace official was understood to be simply checking correct procedure was being followed.
A parliamentary mechanism dating back hundreds of years requires ministers to send draft legislation to the monarch, allowing royal lawyers to check if it could affect the sovereign's personal interests, public duties or private property.
The Guardian has branded the mechanism "archaic", but a Welsh government spokesperson has told GB News "the immunity of the monarch from prosecution is a long-established principle."
All criminal prosecutions in the United Kingdom are brought in the name of the monarch, so it is not constitutionally possible for the King to bring a case against himself.
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All criminal prosecutions in the United Kingdom are brought in the name of the monarch, so it is not constitutionally possible for the King to bring a case against himself.
In a detailed statement, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson explained to GB News: "Under pre-existing Welsh law - specifically, Section 28(3) of the Legislation (Wales) Act 2019 - it is not possible for Welsh subordinate legislation to make The Sovereign criminally liable, not least as it would be constitutionally inappropriate to prosecute a monarch in whose name the Crown Prosecution Service and Courts would act."
"As a matter of legal correctness, assurance was therefore sought that this position would be maintained when subordinate legislation for the Agriculture (Wales) Act 2023 came to be drafted, to allow the process of consent required by Welsh Parliamentary procedure (Standing Order 26.67) to be properly informed.
"At no point were any objections raised by The Welsh Government, either formally or informally, in relation to this process.
"Consent was given in the usual way, as was Royal Assent.
"King’s Consent is a parliamentary process and His Majesty has granted consent on each occasion it has been requested by Government."
The Guardian reports last year's Agriculture (Wales) Act exempts King Charles from rules relating to "the marketing agricultural products, the disposal of carcasses and the disclosure of information to the Welsh state".
Plaid Cymru's Liz Saville Roberts MP has told GB News: “Reports that royal courtiers privately put pressure on the Welsh government to ensure that King Charles could not be prosecuted for rural crimes under a new law are concerning. Such anachronistic practices have no place in our modern Welsh democracy.”
Liz Saville Roberts
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Queen Elizabeth II is thought to have examined more than 1,000 bills during her long reign, including legislation which could have affected her private property at Balmoral and Sandringham.
Upon his accession to the throne, King Charles III inherited the two estates from his mother, as well as the Duchy of Lancaster - a multimillion-pound land and property portfolio which provides King Charles with an income not paid for by taxpayers.
At Buckingham Palace this week, the King was presented with new banknotes featuring his portrait by the Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey and Sarah John, the Bank of England's Chief Cashier.
His Majesty looked delighted, and said the banknotes were "very well designed".
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His Majesty looked delighted, and said the banknotes were "very well designed".
Royal courtiers remain hopeful his cancer treatment is heading in the right direction, with a cautious diary of summer engagements potentially on the cards.
A royal tour to Australia and New Zealand, coinciding with the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Samoa this October, is understood not to be ruled out.
No future engagements for King Charles have been confirmed by Buckingham Palace, and his attendance is expected to depend on medical advice and successful treatment.
