Rishi Sunak today dodged a series of questions on if he would help a reconciliation between the Royal Family and Prince Harry. The BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg put it to the PM that Sir John Major offered support to the then Prince Charles and Princess Diana.
Ms Kuenssberg said: “John Major was called on to help work things out when things got very difficult between Prince Charles and Lady Diana.
“If you are asked to help a royal reconcilation would you be willing to?”
Mr Sunak replied: “I would always just not comment on matters to do with the Royal Family.”
The BBC presenter pressed: “There’s a precedent here, a prime minister previously was called on to help. Now if you were called on to help would you? Surely you wouldn’t say no.”
Dodging the question again, the Prime Minister said: “I would never comment on matters to do with the Royal Family.”
Ms Kuenssberg continued: “But people look to you for leadership as the prime minister and I know you don’t want to get into the family rows, but for the public how can the British public have faith in that institution when they see that dysfunction and allegations of fighting and betrayal at the top. Do you think the public can still have faith?”
Mr Sunak said: “I think the public, like me, have enormous regard for the Royal Family and are deeply proud of them.
“I certainly am and it’s one of the things that I’m most proud of when I think what it is to be British, when I go around the world and champion Britain as an amazing country with so many things that we can be proud of our institutions including the Royal Family are one of those.”
Ms Kuenssberg asked: “Do you think the institution has been damaged by this whole saga though?”
Mr Sunak said: “In general I wouldn’t get into talking about the Royal Family but it’s something I’m proud of and I think the country is proud of and we saw that last year very movingly multiple times and I’m confident that we’ll see it this year with King Charles’s coronation which will be another fantastic occasion for the country to come together and celebrate something special about Britain.”
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