im a child of the king his royal blood music

The Queen visited Dubai and Abu Dhabi on state occasions seen as helping British trade ties. During Queen Elizabeth’s reign came the establishment of the UAE as a country in 1971 and its extraordinary growth in the five decades since. In Abu Dhabi, expectations are high of deeper ties with the new King. The now King Charles had also built strong ties in the UAE and Qatar, and those with the latter attracted controversy in July, when revelations emerged of £2.5m in cash donations made by the former Qatari prime minister Hamad bin Jassim to the Prince of Wales’s charitable foundation. “He’s obviously had the issue with the cash that came up a few months ago, but nevertheless there’s some positives to be found.” But the fact is, to the extent that he chooses to help the British government, he will be a very positive influence with those countries. Because he’ll be much more conservative about how he chooses to wield his influence. “The extent to which he’ll be able to continue to do that now that he’s king is an open question. You take the time to go and stay overnight and deal with them in places that they live, then that matters. I remember a friend telling me that they played bowls together in the sand. “He used to go and spend time with the late King Abdullah in the desert in a tent. And for a long time, he has had the ability to raise issues and even be critical in a way that shorter-term political leaders find quite hard. “I think that gives him the basis for frank conversations. “Charles has built up really strong relationships with royal families in the Gulf over decades and has done so on the basis of friendship and shared royal blood, which matters particularly to the Saudis,” said a former British diplomat who was based in Riyadh. Charles has also taken a strong interest in Islam, and is believed to have had basic Arabic lessons. There are high hopes that Charles will help reboot ties between London and Riyadh, which have been strained in the turbulent years that Prince Mohammed has wielded power.Īs Prince of Wales, Charles travelled to Saudi Arabia 12 times, and he is viewed in the kingdom as coming from a longstanding sympathetic position to cultures, traditions and the history of the region. If Prince Mohammed does fly to London, he is not expected to take part in formal ceremonies and is instead likely to offer private condolences to a King who was better known in Saudi Arabia than the late Queen herself. Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, Mohammed bin Salman, is thought to still be planning to travel – for what would be his first trip to the UK since the death of the dissident Jamal Khashoggi – however, a final decision has not been made, 72 hours from dignitaries gathering. Kuwait is thought to be sending its crown prince, and Abu Dhabi a vice-president. Leaders of Kuwait, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have been uncertain who to send to London to what would be one of the biggest gatherings of global leaders in decades. Nor have mooted seating plans that place regional royals and presidents on pews well behind Commonwealth leaders who were an important part of the Queen’s orbit, but are often less influential when it comes to Britain’s trade and security ties. An expectation that the kings and presidents of the region would board a bus to travel to Westminster Abbey has not been received well.

Im a child of the king his royal blood music