Royal REVEAL: How Buckingham Palace and Downing Street work ‘incredibly close together’
THE ROYAL FAMILY and Downing Street work "incredibly closely together" and the Queen is always ready to ensure the relationship with the public is intact even when the Government of the moment fails to satisfy people's expectations, Royal correspondent Rhiannon Mills claimed.
Buckingham Palace and Downing Street work closely says expert
Speaking on Behind the Headlines podcast, the Sky News Royal correspondent claimed it would be naive to think the Royal Family did not work very closely with the Government. But she claimed the two national institutions cover very different roles within society. Ms Mills highlighted, for example, the differences between the way the Queen and Prince William were received by victims of the Grenfell Tower tragedy in comparison to how Prime Minister Theresa May was received.
She said: “I think we would be naive if we thought that Downing Street and the Palace don’t work incredibly closely together but they have very different roles.
“And the Queen is always described as yes, Head of State, but also head of the nation.
“And she’s seen as a figure who could bring the country together during good times and bad times.
“And I think last summer we saw those terrible times and we saw the outpouring of grief across the country and I think it was seen to be the right thing for members of the Royal Family to get out there to visit - whether it was Manchester, whether it was the victims of the London Bridge terror attack, whether it was Grenfell Tower.
“For Grenfell Tower, we saw the Queen and Prince William visit.
“And that was a case of ‘look, this is the monarchy united: young and old. And we are going to reach out to the people of Grenfell and we are going to show that support’.
The Queen is seen as a figure who could bring the country together during good times and bad times
“But it was interesting last year because at a time when people were saying Theresa May has got this wrong.
“I was at Grenfell when Theresa May turned up and she went into a church, had a very private meeting and then she was rushed out of that building.
“Whereas when the Queen and Prince William were there, it was very quiet generally and people seemed to appreciate the fact that they were making that effort to come and reach out and listen to what people had to say.
“And I think that is what the Royal Family can do.”
Queen sends gifts to troops to mark Diamond Jubilee in 2012
The Prime Minister received heavy criticism at the time of the Grenfell Tower tragedy for failing to visit the victims of the fire and their family soon enough after the tragic event.
Mrs May was recently branded “disgraceful” by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) for mentioning the public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower tragedy during her resignation speech as one of her achievements as Prime Minister.
FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said in a statement: “Many of the underlying issues at Grenfell were due to unsafe conditions that had been allowed to fester under Tory governments and a council for which Theresa May bears ultimate responsibility.
“The inquiry she launched has kicked scrutiny of corporate and government interests into the long-grass, denying families and survivors justice, while allowing business, as usual, to continue for the wealthy.
“For the outgoing prime minister to suggest that her awful response to Grenfell is a proud part of her legacy is, frankly, disgraceful.”