As heir to the throne and Queen Elizabeth II's first minister, Prince Charles and Boris Johnson should be used to their paths crossing, but when the pair shake hands in Rwanda later this week expectations are for both to wear a grimace, not a smile.
Standing in for the monarch and head of the British Commonwealth, Prince Charles suffered setback in the lead up to the meeting when a newspaper reported he had privately described a UK government deal with Rwanda to deport illegal arrivals as appalling. The remarks potentially brought the monarchy into dispute with the government but also offered offence to Rwanda, which is hosting the Commonwealth Summit for the first time since it joined in 2009.
While the prince has repeatedly called for humanitarian treatment of refugees, the British prime minister has stuck by his government's deportation policy despite a last-minute intervention by the European Court of Human Rights grounding the inaugural flight last week.
The interaction between the prince and Mr Johnson, who do not enjoy a warm relationship, will be scrutinised at the meeting in the Rwandan capital of Kigali of 54 Commonwealth countries, which vary in size from the Pacific archipelago of Tuvalu (population 11,000) to India (population 1.3 billion).
That awkwardness could intensify as Prince Charles is likely to be asked about his views on the Rwanda deportations during bilateral meetings, particularly with developing countries. He may also comment on it to the media, although as heir to the British throne he is meant to remain politically neutral.
Mr Johnson pointedly sidestepped the issue in an opinion piece he wrote for The Daily Telegraph on Monday in which he set out his own personal mission statement for the group. The UK prime minister, said the Commonwealth was “ever more significant and valuable” with its members “encompassing about a third of humanity”.
He said Britain was using its “regained sovereignty” post-Brexit to sign Commonwealth free-trade agreements, with 33 achieved so far, and planned to cement one with India “the biggest of them all, by Diwali in October”.
From Rwanda, Mr Johnson will fly to a castle in the Bavarian Alps for a G7 summit at the weekend. It will contrast sharply from the scenario in Cornwall last year, when he hosted the first in-person G7 meeting since the outbreak of the pandemic, with the agenda dominated by Covid-19 and climate change.
During the three-day summit at Schloss Elmau, the seven nations will focus on imposing greater sanctions on Russia, as well as the need to plan for Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction.
Germany has also invited the leaders of India, Indonesia, Argentina, Senegal and South Africa and, given China’s economic woes, will look to refocus the G7 on collaborative science and technology agreements.
After the three-day summit, the G7 leaders from Nato countries will head to the Spanish capital to join their colleagues for one of the alliance’s most important meetings.
Foremost will be how the 30 members formulate a strategy to help Ukraine defeat Russia, discussing the weapons and funding they will provide and for how long.
Uncompromising countries, such as the US, UK and Poland, will ask others, including France and Germany, to hold firm without urging Ukraine to cede any territory to Russia.
If the alliance remains resilient, then Ukraine can expect a significant increase in more advanced weaponry, including Europe’s highly accurate artillery pieces.
Another priority will be cajoling Turkey into dropping its opposition to Sweden and Finland joining Nato, possibly with some American pressure combined with the offer of military aid.
The three major summits could set the agenda for several years.
As Mr Johnson's official spokesman told The National: “All three are significant summits, broadly united with the theme that we are all facing global challenges at the moment.
“Whether it's war in Europe, coming out of the pandemic or inflation, the summit will get together world leaders to discuss what can be done on these important issues to make progress, not least on how we go further in supporting Ukraine.”
Prince Charles in Barbados – in pictures
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2019 Asian Cup final
Japan v Qatar
Friday, 6pm
Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
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Lampedusa: Gateway to Europe
Pietro Bartolo and Lidia Tilotta
Quercus
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Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder MHEV
Power: 360bhp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh282,870
On sale: now
Ferrari
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Tips for taking the metro
- set out well ahead of time
- make sure you have at least Dh15 on you Nol card, as there could be big queues for top-up machines
- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on
- don't carry too much luggage and tuck it under a seat to make room for fellow passengers
The Lowdown
Us
Director: Jordan Peele
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseqph, Evan Alex and Elisabeth Moss
Rating: 4/5
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The Bio
Favourite Emirati dish: I have so many because it has a lot of herbs and vegetables. Harees (oats with chicken) is one of them
Favourite place to go to: Dubai Mall because it has lots of sports shops.
Her motivation: My performance because I know that whatever I do, if I put the effort in, I’ll get results
During her free time: I like to drink coffee - a latte no sugar and no flavours. I do not like cold drinks
Pet peeve: That with every meal they give you a fries and Pepsi. That is so unhealthy
Advice to anyone who wants to be an ironman: Go for the goal. If you are consistent, you will get there. With the first one, it might not be what they want but they should start and just do it
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
ON%20TRACK
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Queen
Nicki Minaj
(Young Money/Cash Money)
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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