Could it be next year in Jerusalem for His Majesty?
Charles III has visited Israel twice and has strong links with the country but may not visit as monarch, writes Richard Pater
When Israel celebrated its 65th birthday, there was residual disappointment that despite growing bilateral ties there had never been an official royal visit.
In December 2015, a British government source explained to the Telegraph: “Until there is a settlement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the royal family can’t really go there.
In Israel so much politics is caught up in the land itself that it’s best to avoid those complications altogether by not going there.”
However, in the decade since, liked the proverbial London bus, we have seen three royal visits in quick succession. Charles followed his attendance at President Peres’ funeral with an official visit in 2020, while William also came on an official visit in 2018.
Why the dramatic change? The royal family’s new approach to Israel is based on two fundamental changes to UK government policy and two personal connections for King Charles himself. The King’s Coronation is an apt time to celebrate these connections.
Post-Brexit, the UK government’s foreign policy approach is reorienting itself to meaningfully engage with allies beyond Europe, ideally those that also offer added value to the British economy. Israel, the ‘innovation nation’, and with its advanced technology, is the perfect partner for the UK. No longer should the intransigence of the Palestinian leadership act as a barrier to enhancing bilateral relations that serve the UK national interest.
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It is in this spirit that the British and Israeli foreign ministers earlier this year signed a new seven-year commitment, which the UK government described as containing “detailed commitments for deepening cooperation across the breadth of the Israel-UK relationship, including on trade, cyber, science and tech, research and development, security, health, climate and gender”. The two governments are also working to conclude an upgraded free trade agreement, with focus on tech and innovation.
No longer should the intransigence of the Palestinian leadership act as a barrier to enhancing bilateral relations that serve the UK national interest.
Israel and the UK are also more aligned than ever when it comes to security cooperation. The two countries share a similar analysis of the geostrategic map of the Middle East. Israel and the UK understand the threats posed by both Sunni Muslim extremism and Iran (though clearly Israel sees the threat more acutely).
On more than one occasion, Israeli intelligence has alerted British partners to terror threats inside the UK, thus helping to save British lives. Complimenting advanced intel and cyber expertise, Israel also provides the UK military with valuable kit that helps protect UK servicemen and women during deployment in combat zones.
Furthermore, the successful reshaping of the region thanks to the Abraham Accords is further proof that advancing peace with the Arab world also does not have to be beholden to Palestinian rejectionism.
His Majesty’s government has been a strong supporter of the Accords, and along with King Charles’ personal ties with other regional leaders can be a positive force multiplier in the region.
Lest we forget, King Charles also has mishpocha buried in Israel. His grandmother (Prince Philip’s mother Alice), honoured as one of the Righteous Among the Nations by the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Centre, is buried on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.
For the new King it is also personal. Despite a small wobble during the 1980s following a trip to various Arab states, Charles, no doubt guided by his long, personal friendship with both the former and current Chief Rabbis, has come to appreciate the profound Jewish connection to the Land of Israel.
Lest we forget, King Charles also has mishpocha buried in Israel. His grandmother (Prince Philip’s mother Alice), honoured as one of the Righteous Among the Nations by the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Centre, is buried on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.
Fourth, the King and Israel share a love of the environment and protecting the planet. As Charles heard when he met then prime minister Naftali Bennett at the Cop26 Summit in Glasgow, Israel is the world leader in water innovation and shares its irrigation and desertification tech with developing countries. King Charles also saw this for himself during his 2020 trip and received presentations on Israeli efforts towards a creating a sustainable global future.
I am no expert in ecclesiastical protocol but I imagine there is a strong chance Jerusalem will receive a mention or two during the coronation ceremony. Psalm 122, with its implication that the House of Windsor is the successor to the House of David, was read at his mother’s coronation and includes the line: “Jerusalem is built as a city that is at unity in itself. O pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and plenteousness within thy palaces.” Also, perhaps Blake’s Jerusalem, which the King’s ancestor George V was said to prefer to the national anthem ‘God save the King’.
Having visited relatively recently, and no doubt having to prioritise the Commonwealth countries, it’s not clear whether King Charles, as monarch, will get to visit Israel again.
However, if he were to do so, he could become the first reigning monarch to visit since Richard the Lionheart with the Crusades at the end of the 12th century.
- Richard Pater is a political analyst based in Jerusalem and executive director of BICOM
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