King wears Greek tie following Elgin Marbles row between Athens and Downing Street

Published

2 years ago

December 1, 2023

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The King wore a tie depicting the Greek flag as he appeared at the COP28 climate summit following a diplomatic row over the Elgin Marbles.

The monarch, whose late father Prince Philip was born a prince of Greece, paired the accessory with a handkerchief also in blue and white – the country’s national colours – in Dubai today.

His sartorial statement comes after a row between Rishi Sunak and Athens after the prime minister cancelled a meeting with his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis over the historic marbles, also known as the Parthenon sculptures.

Downing Street said the talks had only been agreed on the basis the Greeks would not publicly lobby for the return of the ancient artefacts, on display and owned by the British Museum, during Mr Mitsotakis’s visit to the UK.

But Greece denied promising not to raise the issue on the trip.

Mr Sunak seemed not to mind the King’s clothing choice, which could be interpreted as an attempt to cool diplomatic tensions.

He posted a picture of himself with the monarch on X, formerly known as Twitter, praising him for having been “at the forefront of the fight to protect our planet” for more than 60 years.

Why did the King wear a Greek tie?

The King knew the world would be watching this speech.

British diplomats were also aware.

So when the King dons a tie depicting the Greek flag, just days after a war of words over the Parthenon marbles, many eyebrows were raised.

But was it a sartorial statement with some significance?

It’s been seen in Greece as a sign of support, but was that support a personal or a political gesture?

The King has of course strong family links to Greece. His father, Prince Philip, was born into the Greek (and Danish) royal family.

It could of course just be a favourite tie. The King hates waste and is often seen re-wearing clothes he’s had for a while.

Or maybe Whitehall diplomats saw an opportunity to use the so-called soft power of the King to make a signal to Athens. It’s impossible to say. But Greek media is interpreting the tie positively.

It certainly wouldn’t be the first-time royal outfits have made a wider statement.

Kate wore Ukrainian blue when she played the piano at the opening of the Eurovision Song Contest.

And the late Queen famously wore an outfit in the blue and yellow of Ukraine when she opened an underground line in 2022.

We’ve had no comment from the palace about the King’s choice of tie.

But questions about a tie are definitely easier to consider than recent headlines about the King.

Mr Sunak separately denied throwing a “hissy fit” by scrapping the meeting with the Greek prime minister, in reference to comments made by George Osborne, the former chancellor-turned-chairman of the British Museum.

Mr Osborne said the row would not stop long-running talks on an exchange deal to allow the Elgin Marbles to be displayed in Greece on loan.

Asked whether the former senior Tory was right, Mr Sunak told journalists: “No, no. I think I’ve said everything I’ve got to say on this in Parliament the other day and now I’m focused on delivering for people on the things they care about.”

King hopes to shift focus away from race allegations

The King will be hoping his attendance at COP28, and perhaps his tie, will shift the attention from the controversy raging at home.

Buckingham Palace is considering whether it should take action after the King and the Princess of Wales were named in the Dutch edition of a new book as the senior royals who allegedly questioned what colour skin Prince Harry and Meghan’s son would have.

Endgame author Omid Scobie has said an investigation has been launched into what the publisher has described as an “error” and insisted he never submitted a book containing the names.

The King may simply have been paying tribute to his Greek ancestry – the late Duke of Edinburgh was born on the island of Corfu in 1921.

Philip was exiled from Greece with his family when he was just 18 months old when a military coup overthrew his uncle, King Constantine I.

On a visit to Athens in 2021 just weeks before the duke died, the now King said the country of his father’s birth had “long held the most special place in my heart”.

Politics

UK, Australia, Germany, Italy and New Zealand condemn Israel’s plan for new operation in Gaza

Published

6 hours ago

August 9, 2025

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UK joins four countries in condemning Israel's plan for new operation in Gaza

The UK and four allies have criticised Israel’s decision to launch a new large-scale military operation in Gaza – warning it will “aggravate the catastrophic humanitarian situation” in the territory.

The foreign ministers of Britain, Australia, Germany, Italy and New Zealand said in a joint statement that the offensive will “endanger the lives of hostages” and “risk violating international humanitarian law”.

It comes a day after Israel’s security cabinet approved an operation to take military control of Gaza City – and concluded a full takeover of the enclave is required to end the conflict.

It marks another escalation in the war in Gaza, sparked by the Hamas attack of 7 October 2023.

In their joint statement, the UK and its allies said they “strongly reject” the decision, adding: “It will endanger the lives of the hostages and further risk the mass displacement of civilians.

“The plans that the government of Israel has announced risk violating international humanitarian law. Any attempts at annexation or of settlement extension violate international law.”

The countries also called for a permanent ceasefire as “the worst-case scenario of famine is unfolding in Gaza”.

It comes as Sky News analysis has found that airdrops of aid are making little difference to Gaza’s hunger crisis, and pose serious risks to the population – with a father-of-two killed by a falling package.

Meanwhile, France, Canada, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the United Nations all criticised Israel’s plan for a full occupation of Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “expressed his disappointment” with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s in phone call on Friday after Berlin decided it would stop selling arms to Israel.

In a post on X, the Israeli prime minister’s office added: “Instead of supporting Israel’s just war against Hamas, which carried out the most horrific attack against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, Germany is rewarding Hamas terrorism by embargoing arms to Israel.”

US ambassador hits out at Starmer

Earlier on Friday, the US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, criticised Sir Keir Starmer after he said Israel’s decision to “escalate its offensive” in Gaza is “wrong”.

Mr Huckabee wrote on X: “So Israel is expected to surrender to Hamas & feed them even though Israeli hostages are being starved? Did UK surrender to Nazis and drop food to them? Ever heard of Dresden, PM Starmer? That wasn’t food you dropped. If you had been PM then UK would be speaking German!”

In another post around an hour later Mr Huckabee wrote: “How much food has Starmer and the UK sent to Gaza?

“@IsraeliPM has already sent 2 MILLION TONS into Gaza & none of it even getting to hostages.”

Sir Keir has pledged to recognise a Palestinian state in September unless the Israeli government meets a series of conditions towards ending the war in Gaza.

The UK and its allies criticised Israel as US President JD Vance and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy met at Chevening House in Kent on Friday.

Mr Vance described a “disagreement” about how the US and UK could achieve their “common objectives” in the Middle East, and said the Trump administration had “no plans to recognise a Palestinian state”.

He said: “I don’t know what it would mean to really recognise a Palestinian state given the lack of functional government there.”

Mr Vance added: “There’s a lot of common objectives here. There is some, I think, disagreement about how exactly to accomplish those common objectives, but look, it’s a tough situation.”

The UN Security Council will meet on Saturday to discuss the situation in the Middle East.

Ambassador Riyad Mansour, permanent observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, said earlier on Friday that a number of countries would be requesting a meeting of the UN Security Council on Israel’s plans.

Politics

BlackRock launching a SOL ETF in first wave would be ‘messed up’ — Analyst

Published

6 hours ago

August 9, 2025

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<div>BlackRock launching a SOL ETF in first wave would be 'messed up' — Analyst</div>

BlackRock hasn’t filed for a Solana ETF, but ETF analyst James Seyffart says they shouldn’t be allowed to jump in at the last minute after other issuers’ hard work.