About a week after he was officially crowned King of Great Britain, the Daily Mail reported Sunday that King Charles III may visit Israel soon, thus becoming the first British Monarch to visit the State of Israel.
According to the report, the King expressed his desire to visit Israel. Baron Stuart Polak, a member of Britain's House of Lords, told the British newspaper that preliminary preparations for the visit are underway. If indeed Charles arrives in Israel, it will be the first time that the head of the British royal family will visit the country. Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away last September after 70 years on the throne, never visited Israel. "I have no doubt that Charles will be the one to break this pattern," said Baron Polak, who added that he felt a certain sadness at the fact that the Queen had never visited Israel.
Report: King Charles to become first UK sovereign to visit Israel #KingCharlesIII #Israel https://t.co/H8LgeK8mnA pic.twitter.com/wYl7o2baX6
ā Eli Dror (@edrormba) May 14, 2023
It is likely that King Charles will also visit the Palestinian Authority in order to avoid political disputes that may arise due to his visit. In the past, he came to Israel three times as part of private visits before he ascended the throne. When his late mother was alive, there was concern that if she came to visit Israel it might provoke the wrath of the Arab world. Prince William made an official visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority already back in 2018.
According to the Daily Mail report, Israeli President Issac Herzog is personally involved in efforts to bring the King of England to Israel. Several sources said that the President told Charles that he wanted to welcome him to Israel, but that due to the security situation and the recent rockets fired from Gaza towards Israel, a date for the visit has not been set. Another diplomatic source said that the King "has made it clear in recent years that he is not afraid to travel to Israel and will not allow the fact that he is now a monarch to change that."
King Charles III plans trip to Israel, West Bank - reporthttps://t.co/x1lNov0TUn pic.twitter.com/ujL68R69F6
ā i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) May 14, 2023
Herzog met Charles three times in which the two became very close, and the President even told him on several occasions that he would be very happy if a royal visit took place in Israel which had never happened before. Now, as mentioned, there is already talk of such a visit, but there is no official date and it is not clear when it will take place when according to all estimates it is at least a few months away.
