Does the Queen back Brexit?
Diplomatic cables from German ambassador contain fresh clues to the monarch’s views
The Queen is required to be strictly neutral on political matters, including her nation’s biggest shake-up yet in the 21st century - Brexit.
As head of state, the monarch is not allowed to take part in elections or referendums and must keep her opinions under wraps.
But, as The Guardian notes, this hasn’t prevented the media and public from speculating about her views on the UK’s place in Europe.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The German cables
The latest insight into the Queen’s thoughts on the bloc comes from newly released diplomatic cables from 1988. Rudiger Freiherr von Wechmar, the German ambassador at the time, wrote that a meeting with Her Majesty had left him in “no doubt that the future of Britain lies in Europe”.
According to the documents - held in the German Foreign Ministry’s political archive and seen by Der Spiegel this week - Wechmar wrote: “With a smirk, she noted that the Brits are still a very insular people, and to most of them the magical number 1992 doesn’t mean very much.”
This reference appears to relate to plans to establish a single market by the end of 1992, says The Times.
When Wechmar praised a government campaign aimed at educating the public about the benefits of the single market, the Queen is said to have replied: “It’s about time.”
Buckingham Palace has refused to comment.
The Sun row
Ahead of the EU referendum, The Sun got into trouble with the press regulator for its front page headline: “Queen backs Brexit.”
The Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) said the headline was not supported by the main article, which claimed the Queen had criticised the European Union at two private functions, once to Nick Clegg when he was deputy prime minister in 2011 and again at a reception for MPs.
The newspaper’s two sources, described by political editor Tom Newton Dunn as “impeccably placed”, said they “were left in no doubt at all about the Queen’s views on European integration” after hearing the conversations.
At the time, Clegg claimed the report was “nonsense”, while the Palace said: “The Queen remains politically neutral, as she has for 63 years. We will not comment on spurious, anonymously sourced claims. The referendum is a matter for the British people to decide.”
Her hints and hats
Some commentators claim to have identified hidden subtexts in the Queen’s speeches, including one to the Sandringham Women’s Institute (WI) in Norfolk earlier this year.
The monarch spoke about the importance of finding “common ground” with people of differing views, in what Reuters said was “a delicately coded message to Britain’s factious political class”.
As the political crisis continued to play out at Westminster, she told WI members: “I for one prefer the tried-and-tested recipes, like speaking well of each other and respecting different points of view, coming together to seek out the common ground, and never losing sight of the bigger picture.”
The Queen’s fashion choices have not escaped analysis either. The Guardian notes that “a blue hat with yellow flowers during a speech in which she read out new laws to prepare the UK for its departure from the EU led some to speculate that Elizabeth may in fact be a closet remainer”.
Even Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s lead negotiator on Brexit, tweeted: “Clearly the EU still inspires some in the UK #QueensSpeech.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Airplane food is reportedly getting much worse
Cockroaches and E. coli are among the recent problems encountered in the skies
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
What Mike Huckabee means for US-Israel relations
In the Spotlight Some observers are worried that the conservative evangelical minister could be a destabilizing influence on an already volatile region
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: November 19, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Will Donald Trump wreck the Brexit deal?
Today's Big Question President-elect's victory could help UK's reset with the EU, but a free-trade agreement with the US to dodge his threatened tariffs could hinder it
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is the next Tory leader up against?
Today's Big Question Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick will have to unify warring factions and win back disillusioned voters – without alienating the centre ground
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is Lammy hoping to achieve in China?
Today's Big Question Foreign secretary heads to Beijing as Labour seeks cooperation on global challenges and courts opportunities for trade and investment
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Britain about to 'boil over'?
Today's Big Question A message shared across far-right groups listed more than 30 potential targets for violence in the UK today
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
UK's Starmer slams 'far-right thuggery' at riots
Speed Read The anti-immigrant violence was spurred by false rumors that the suspect in the Southport knife attack was an immigrant
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The Tamils stranded on 'secretive' British island in Indian Ocean
Under the Radar Migrants 'unlawfully detained' since 2021 shipwreck on UK-controlled Diego Garcia, site of important US military base
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Britain's Labour Party wins in a landslide
Speed Read The Conservatives were unseated after 14 years of rule
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published