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Prince Charles defuses Franco-British D-Day dispute
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Prince Charles defuses Franco-British D-Day dispute
AFP - Wednesday, June 3
LONDON (AFP) - - Prince Charles is to attend D-Day commemorations in France next weekend, his office said Tuesday, defusing an embarrassing diplomatic tussle over whether Queen Elizabeth II should attend.
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The announcement came a day after the White House unexpectedly intervened to try to untangle what appeared to be a protocol mishap, but was presented by some British newspapers as a French snub for the monarch.
Embattled Prime Minister Gordon Brown was left looking flat-footed by the royal turn of events, which comes as he battles a simmering political crisis at home.
Prince Charles was said to have spoken to his mother the queen to suggest he should go to Normandy, to join dignitaries including US President Barack Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
"The Prince of Wales will be attending the commemorations on D-Day in Normandy on the invitation of President Sarkozy," said the spokesman for Clarence House, the prince's official residence.
The royal change of mind came after Obama's spokesman said Monday that Washington was working with organisers of the D-Day events to invite the British monarch, after it emerged she had not received an official invitation.
France had said the queen was welcome to come, but said it is up to the British government -- in theory Brown -- to decide who attends.
According to the Daily Telegraph newspaper, the queen was "embarrassed" by remarks made by Brown, who said at the weekend that he had "done his public duty" by accepting an invitation from Sarkozy, but only for him.
Brown had said that he would arrange for the queen to attend if she wanted to -- and his Downing Street office appeared caught short by the White House intervention.
"While we welcome the White House's intention to be helpful, we are not aware of any involvement from the US administration on this issue," a Downing Street spokesman said late Monday.
Buckingham Palace sought publicly to downplay any sense of discord, saying Sunday that it had "never expressed any sense of anger or frustration at all, and (was) content with all the arrangements that are planned."
But one report Tuesday said that Prince Charles, who has good personal relations with Sarkozy, bypassed Downing Street to suggest that he should attend on behalf of the royal family.
The White House said it would welcome his attendance.
"We've been hopeful this would be worked out and we would welcome a final decision that the British and French come to," said spokesman Ben Chang.
In Paris, French officials said Tuesday they had not been informed of the US initiative -- but were visibly relieved at Prince Charles' announcement.
"We had invited the British, it was up to them to sort out who represented them," said one source at Sarkozy's Elysee Palace, stressing that there had been no US "pressure" on behalf of the British royals.
Another source suggested the mix-up was linked with Brown's domestic political woes. He is widely expected to reshuffle his cabinet within days, after weeks of embarrassing leaks about politicians' expenses.
"It is a delicate time for Gordon Brown, politically," he said. "He didn't want the queen to come because, from a protocol point of view, if she were present, it would be for her to speak. Prince Charles will not speak.
"They've sorted out their problem among themselves, so much the better."
The D-Day celebrations mark the 65th anniversary of the 1944 allied landings in France, then occupied by Nazi Germany, that proved a vital turning point in the course of World War II.
The queen was present for the 60th anniversary event in 2004. Next weekend's events will also be attended by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
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Prince Charles speaks with World War II veterans during the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings in 2004. Charles is to attend D-Day commemorations in France next weekend, after a diplomatic tussle over whether Queen Elizabeth II should be invited.
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