Perhaps King Charles was being supportive to Liz Truss

There’s a surprising amount of commentary about the few casual words of greeting by the King to his first prime minister, just caught by the television cameras. “Dear, oh dear, anyway…” is the snatch of introduction we heard from Charles III as he greeted Liz Truss for her second audience and motioned for her to take a seat.

The King has been accused of mocking the prime minister, which would, potentially, make him a member of the notorious Anti-Growth Alliance (as if his credentials as an environmentalist weren’t sufficient for him to be viewed with maximum suspicion by the more zealous Trussters). The precise wording of the brief exchange is a little more ambivalent:

LT: “Your Majesty… Lovely to see you again.”

KC3: “Back again. Dear, oh dear. Anyway…”

It’s a weekly audience, by convention, so why he might be moved to say “back again” like a presiding judge to a repeat offender in court isn’t too clear. The spin is that this sort of thing is just our eccentric monarch’s way of putting folk at their ease, a sort of verbal tic, if you like.

So it may well be that he wasn’t passing an oblique verdict on the financial turmoil triggered by the mini-Budget. Without a transcript of the ensuing private talk, it’s not that easy to say.

Perhaps he was performing one of the traditional roles allotted to the sovereign, which is to “encourage” their prime minister. One of the rare glimpses of an audience was broadcast in 1992 for a BBC documentary marking Elizabeth II’s 40 years on the throne. It has her chatting with her then prime minister, John Major, with a look of benign concern and generally being very supportive and sympathetic, just as the constitution requires.

In the same fashion, maybe Charles was just trying to be understanding towards a leader under a lot of pressure. She has a difficult job to do, the economic context really is, well, appalling, and her colleagues are being unhelpful, to say the least. He might feel sorry for her, on a personal level.

Prime ministers generally attest that their audiences with the Queen were an opportunity to unburden themselves and be sure it wouldn’t be leaked to the media. The Queen was often the only person they could trust with confidence, with the possible exception of a spouse. No doubt the King is following suit, and Truss has an awful lot of unburdening to do. The King will ask the right sort of questions about the energy crisis measures and mortgage rates, hint at his own views, share any relevant wisdom, maybe indulge in a little gossip about the more ghastly people in public life, and wish her all the best.

Poor Liz Truss. She may be the author of her own misfortunes, or at least co-writer of the unintentionally satirical show with Kwasi Kwarteng, but so badly have things gone in such a short time that people expect her to get nothing right, hence the unkind interpretation of her royal encounter. It does, however, allow her to rise above the ultra-low bar for success that she has now set. So when she manages to get through some set-piece event without falling over, such as a party conference speech or PMQs, it’s another step on the road to recovery. But she is of course still in a great deal of trouble, and she may be “back again” at Buck House before much longer to hand in her cards or request a general election, or indeed both. Dear, oh dear.