Friday 24 June 2022 01:36 PM Don't mention Rwanda! Prince Charles and Boris Johnson hold awkward 'tea and ... trends now

Prince Charles shared tea and biscuits in an awkward meeting with Boris Johnson in Rwanda today but they apparently didn't exchange views on the PM's plans to fly migrants to the African nation after a ding dong about its morality.

The heir to the throne and the Prime Minister are both in Kigali for a Commonwealth summit and spoke privately for 15 minutes after Charles addressed delegates about slavery, climate change and the Queen remaining as head of state of their nations.

The royal and the Tory leader shook hands in another awkward exchange following claims Charles called the policy 'appalling' in comments made in private, forcing Boris to declare he would tell the royal about the 'obvious merits' of the scheme.

Before the meeting they posed awkwardly for photographers and smiled wryly before their chat in a conference room with them and close aides after journalists were ushered from the room. 

The much-anticipated meeting between Charles and Boris Johnson lasted 15 minutes. Hours earlier Mr Johnson has rowed back on earlier comments that he would tell the Prince of Wales to be open-minded about his Rwanda asylum policy.

The Prime Minister told broadcasters in Rwanda: 'I wouldn't comment on anything that I say to the Queen or the Queen says to me, nor would I say what the heir to the throne might say to me or what I may say to him.

'Prime ministers never talk about that. What I will say is as people come to Rwanda, like you have today, there are a lot of prejudices about Rwanda need to be blown away. So, actually, the achievements of the government of Rwanda over the last couple of decades have been remarkable.'

The Prince of Wales was told yesterday by one Tory backbencher to 'keep his oar out' of politics as the Tories intensified their attacks on the heir to the throne over his opposition to its Rwanda migrant programme.  

Carrie Johnson and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, are also on the Rwanda trip with their husbands and greeted each other warmly at the Kigali Convention Centre this morning.

In his speech today Charles described how he was on a personal journey of discovery and was continuing to 'deepen my own understanding of slavery's enduring impact', in a speech at the opening of a Commonwealth summit in Rwanda.

He recognised the roots of the family of nations 'run deep into the most painful period of our history' and acknowledging the wrongs of the past was a 'conversation whose time has come'.

But there was no apology from the heir to the throne for the royal family's involvement in the transportation and selling of people for profit. For centuries, successive monarchs and other royals participated in the trade, either supporting and facilitating the activity or making money from it.

Charles told the gathering of prime ministers and presidents, who included Boris Johnson, he could not 'describe the depths of my personal sorrow at the suffering of so many' during slavery.

The Prince of Wales has told Commonwealth leaders the potential of the family of the nations for good cannot be realised until we all 'acknowledge the wrongs which have shaped our past'.

Charles described how he was on a personal journey of discovery and was continuing to 'deepen my own understanding of slavery's enduring impact', in a speech at the opening of a Commonwealth summit in Rwanda.

He recognised the roots of the family of nations 'run deep into the most painful period of our history' and acknowledging the wrongs of the past was a 'conversation whose time has come'.

But there was no apology from the heir to the throne for the royal family's involvement in the transportation and selling of people for profit.

For centuries, successive monarchs and other royals participated in the trade, either supporting and facilitating the activity or making money from it.

Charles told the gathering of prime ministers and presidents, who included Boris Johnson, he could not 'describe the depths of my personal sorrow at the suffering of so many' during slavery.

The prince is representing the Queen at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm). The prince told the world leaders the family of nations was 'uniquely positioned to achieve such positive change in our world', adding: 'To achieve this potential for good, however, and to unlock the power of our common future, we must also acknowledge the wrongs which have shaped our past.

'Many of those wrongs belong to an earlier age with different - and, in some ways lesser - values. By working together, we are building a new and enduring friendship.'

Charles, who will succeed the Queen as head of the Commonwealth, went on to say: 'For while we strive together for peace, prosperity and democracy, I want to acknowledge that the roots of our contemporary association run deep into the most painful period of our history.

'I cannot describe the depths of my personal sorrow at the suffering of so many, as I continue to deepen my own understanding of slavery's enduring impact.

'If we are to forge a common future that benefits all our citizens, we too must find new ways to acknowledge our past. Quite simply, this is a conversation whose time has come.'

The trip to Rwanda is seen as hugely significant for Charles. He and Camilla are the first British royals to visit the country, and it is the first CHOGM he has attended since he was chosen to take over as head of the Commonwealth after the Queen.

There has been 'clear unhappiness' in the royal camp that comments by Mr Johnson on Wednesday, saying he hoped his trip to Rwanda would help others 'shed some of their condescending attitudes' toward the country, had overshadowed the prince's important day of visits focusing on the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Charles is being accompanied by the Queen's private secretary Sir Edward Young, who is the monarch's main point of contact with No 10. He is there because the Queen remains head of the Commonwealth. It is thought likely that Sir Edward has been involved in discussions behind the scenes to resolve the issue between Charles and the PM.

The first flight removing asylum seekers from Britain to Rwanda was due to take off last week, but it was grounded by successful challenges to the European Court of Human Rights ahead of a full hearing on the scheme's legality in UK courts.

The policy is one element of a £120million economic deal with Kigali, but has been widely criticised in part because of concerns about Rwanda's human rights record. Last night, a Rwandan government spokesman said Britain had paid the money in full, and some of it had been spent, making it unlikely that anything will be clawed back should the policy falter.

After meeting Rwandan president Paul Kagame yesterday, Mr Johnson said Mr Kagame 'cares passionately' about the UK's policy having been a refugee in neighbouring Uganda. Mr Kagame has been lauded for his role in ending the 1994 genocide that saw ethnic Hutu extremists slaughter 800,000 people. But his regime has since been accused of political repression, assassinations and the imprisonment of critics.

Cabinet allies rush to shore up Boris as it emerges he went SWIMMING in Rwanda after Tories suffered crippling double by-election blow and was 'blindsided' by party chair Oliver Dowden's decision to quit... as

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