Nigel Farage opened up about his relationship with King Charles as he spoke about their past “disagreements”.
The Reform leader attended a reception for newly elected MPs and Members of the House of Lords at Buckingham Palace, which took place on Wednesday afternoon, and claimed he and the King have since have had “a laugh” with each other.
The hundreds of guests, including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and leader of the opposition Kemi Badenoch, were hosted in the lavish State Ballroom and were also joined by the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.
Mr Farage said he didn’t speak to the King or Queen because he had met them multiple times before and wanted to let other MPs make the most of the occasion.
He went on to claim that he knew that if he saw the monarch “some of the exchanges would be interesting” as they “have disagreed in the past”. However, he gave a three-word verdict over their relationship saying, “it’s not nasty”.
The politician said: “He came to the European Parliament many years ago and gave a big speech to which he got a standing ovation.
“Apart from me, I sat there with arms folded.
“So we’ve had a laugh about it ever since, it’s not nasty, it’s climate change and stuff like that.”
Mr Farage – who attended a similar reception when he was first elected as an MEP in 1999 – met the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, then afterwards heaped praise on them, saying they are charming” and they are “doing a lot of the heavy lifting”.
He said it has “been a difficult few years” for the Royal Family, adding: “Wonderboy and wondergirl disappear off to America, the Queen dies, the King’s not been well, Andrew’s not in the public eye, Princess Anne is 74, so they are doing a lot of the heavy lifting and I think doing it very well.”
Of his previous appearance at a similar reception, he said: “It’s really funny being at this, because this is not the first one of these I’ve been to.
“I came to a reception for new MEPs. So we’re going back 26 years, and there were about 30 of us, and that was with the [late] Queen and as he was then, the Duke of Edinburgh.”
