King Charles III will not attend next month's Cop27 international climate change summit in Egypt despite his commitment to environmental issues, reports say.
The UK's Times newspaper reported that prime minister Liz Truss had objected to him attending the gathering during their audience at Buckingham Palace last month.
Neither Downing Street nor the Palace would comment on the report, which said the king had wanted to deliver a speech to delegates at the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh.
A No 10 source, however, said it was “ridiculous” to suggest that she “gives orders” to the monarch.
Nevertheless, by convention all overseas official visits by members of the royal family are undertaken in accordance with advice from the UK government.
Before he ascended the throne, there had been speculation that, as Prince of Wales, he would go to Egypt having attended the Cop26 summit in Glasgow the previous year.
It is understood, however, that after he sought advice from the government it was agreed that this would not be the right occasion to make his first overseas visit as sovereign.
The Times quoted a senior royal source as saying: “It is no mystery that the king was invited to go there. He had to think very carefully about what steps to take for his first overseas tour, and he is not going to be attending Cop.”
The source said the decision was made on the government's advice and was “entirely in the spirit of being ever-mindful as king that he acts on government advice”.
A No 10 spokeswoman said: “We do not comment on meetings between the prime minister and the king.”
King Charles III through the years — in pictures
