Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Charles shakes hands with Mugabe at funeral

Pa
Thursday 07 April 2005 19:00 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The Prince of Wales shook hands with the Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe at the Pope's funeral today.

The Prince of Wales shook hands with the Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe at the Pope's funeral today.

Charles, who was seated one place away from the president, was "caught by surprise" when Mugabe leaned over to greet him, Clarence House said.

President Mugabe side-stepped a European Union travel ban to attend the service in Rome.

His presence was condemned as an insult when it emerged yesterday with one Euro MP describing it as a "flagrant breach of the EU travel ban".

President Mugabe has just won an election in which criticism of Britain and Prime Minister Tony Blair was a main plank of his party's campaign.

The validity of the election has also been questioned by observers.

Last year British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw was condemned after he shook hands with the president at a United Nations summit in New York.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in