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The King and Parliament: The relationship between politics and the royals - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 122

3 Jan 2026
Image © Number 10
Image © Number 10

In this episode we are joined by author and former royal correspondent Valentine Low to explore the evolving relationship between Downing Street and the Palace and why it matters for Parliament. Drawing on his book Power and the Palace, we explore how royal influence has shifted from Queen Victoria’s overt political interventions to Elizabeth II’s studied neutrality. Along the way, we connect historical episodes – where monarchs helped shape diplomacy and constitutional outcomes – to today’s flashpoints, from the prorogation and dissolution of Parliament to referendums and royal finances and the looming constitutional headaches of future hung parliaments.

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We trace the story from Queen Victoria, who sought to shape foreign policy and even push ministers out of office, to the modern expectation that the Sovereign stays “above politics.” Low brings this history to life with vivid portraits of royal–minister tensions: Victoria’s exasperation with Palmerston’s “forgotten” correspondence, Edward VII’s surprise charm offensive in Paris that helped thaw relations ahead of the Entente Cordiale, and George V’s attempt to convene politicians at Buckingham Palace to tackle the intractable question of Irish Home Rule.

From there, we turn to the weekly audience between Monarch and Prime Minister – private, unknowable, but still constitutionally significant – before arriving at the Boris Johnson years, when prorogation and election timing strained conventions and exposed how fragile the “golden triangle” of Palace–No.10–Cabinet Office co-ordination can be. Low also unpicks the uncertainty over dissolution rules after the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, the continued secrecy surrounding the expanded Cabinet Manual, and how “Sedwill’s Law” effectively created a new precedent for what happens if a Prime Minister dies in office.

Referendums have revealed further strains: the carefully calibrated words attributed to the Queen during the 2014 Scotland vote, the controversy over claims she backed Brexit, and the Palace’s tightrope walk once neutrality is publicly questioned. We also revisit the aftermath of Diana’s death and the Blair years, the role of state visits as diplomatic “show business,” and the perennial politics of royal costs.

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Our guest

Valentine Low

Valentine Low

Valentine Low

Valentine Low is a writer and journalist. He was royal correspondent at The Times from 2008 until 2023 having previously been a reporter on the London Evening Standard since 1987. As a royal reporter, his exclusives included revealing the bullying allegations against the Duchess of Sussex which made headlines around the world. His latest book, Power and the Palace, was published in September 2025 and explores the secretive relationship at the heart of the British state between the monarchy and the Government.

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Transcript

Please note, this transcript is automatically generated. There may consequently be minor errors and the text is not formatted according to our style guide. If you wish to reference or cite the transcript copy below, please first check against the audio version above.

Intro: [00:00:00] You are listening to Parliament Matters, a Hansard Society Production supported by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. Learn more at hansardsociety.org.uk/pm

Ruth Fox: Welcome to Parliament Matters, the podcast about the institution at the heart of our democracy Parliament itself. I'm Ruth Fox.

Mark D'Arcy: And I'm Mark D'Arcy. And we're delighted to be joined for this special edition of the pod by Valentine Low, former Royal correspondent of The Times, who's written a new book about the relationship between Downing Street and the Palace.

It's full of fascinating anecdotes about how kings and queens have clashed with their prime ministers over the years as the. Powers of the monarchy have perhaps receded a bit, but its place in public affection has remained fairly solid. Valentine's book is called Power and the Palace, and it's published by Headline Press. And Valentine, the first thing I wanted to ask you about was that very point, the power of the monarchy is a [00:01:00] great deal less now than it used to be in the period. You start this book with Queen Victoria's reign. Queen Victoria was quite keen in intervening in British foreign policy, not least because Britain was often dealing with heads of states who were very close relatives of hers.

Valentine Low: Yeah, it's fascinating and it's the reason why I wanted to write the book because I wanted to understand how Queen Victoria was so politically active, meddlesome you might say, and how we got from there, to Queen Elizabeth II, who went out of her way to remove herself from politics or in the phrase of a private secretary, to be above politics.

And yeah, Victoria expressed opinions about who her prime ministers should be. She tried to get ministers sacked. One particular bugbear of hers was Lord Palmerston, foreign secretary, a very prominent foreign secretary who could have wanted to get on with the business of being foreign secretary. And she wanted to insist that all messages to ambassadors which went out in her name should go through her and things like that. And he thought that was a [00:02:00] frightful interference with Foreign Office business and used to just not do it.

Mark D'Arcy: He forgot.

Valentine Low: Yeah, he forgot. Exactly. And made excuses. And this used to enrage her and she tried to get him sacked. She failed. Full transcript →

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