Andy Burnham’s just humiliated King Charles – this isn’t how Prime Ministers behave

King Charles could be forgiven if he spat out his breakfast in disbelief when he saw the news. His Majesty is on an important royal tour to The Bahamas, Guyana and Antigua and Barbuda this week. It’s been a trip that’s needed the careful poise of a tight-rope walker traversing the Niagara Falls.

Pressure has been mounting on the King over Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade. It was made clear before the trip got under way that Charles would be happy to discuss the legacy of slavery at a summit with Commonwealth leaders. But, crucially, there would be no apology.

This was not a decision made by Charles himself but which came following Government advice. So when it emerged early this morning that Andy Burnham is now considering apologising, he must have felt he’d been stitched up like one of the kippers he’s reportedly partial to for breakfast. Hopefully a bone didn’t get stuck in his throat, if told the news when tucking into one.

Burnham is new to the being Prime Minister game. But this is schoolboy stuff and not how a PM is meant to behave. You can imagine an angry phone call from the team at Buckingham Palace to 10 Downing Street in the early hours. What is he thinking? Why didn’t you tell us? Why have you made the King look like he doesn’t know what’s going on?

Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali said recently that Charles has recognised slavery as the “darkest days” in human history, but that moving to an apology is the next step.

So when he arrived in the country for a two-day visit maintaining the Government’s position that there would be no apology cannot have been easy.

Burnham has dismissed the idea of paying financial reparations, saying they are “not the right answer”. But will Charles now trust him not to change his mind on this too?

It makes a tricky job of diplomacy harder still if Charles is being left to figure it out for himself what the Government might U-turn on next.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman made it clear earlier this month that the visit will “not shy away from the darkest days” of the past, and repeatedly reiterated that His Majesty acts solely on Government advice.

So the advice needs to be clear. And consistent. And if there’s going to be a U-turn it needs to happen well before such an important royal tour. Not smack bang in the middle of it.

Burnham’s backtracking – even if you agree it’s the right thing to do – has made King Charles look stupid.

By constitutional rule, the King can only say what the government tells him to say. If the government tells him to stay silent on an apology, then he must. But now, Burnham has made the King look out of touch to those who don’t understand how his role works.

At a time when the monarchy is already struggling with enough scandals, this is the last thing the King needs. It’s embarrassing for the UK too to look so disorganised.

Burnham was meant to be stopping the chaos of Keir Starmer‘s constant U-turrns. King Charles, though, must be wondering if it’s simply more of the same.