An Obvious Message': King Charles's Greek Ag Tie Rekindles Marbles Row

1/23/24, 10:27 AM ‘An obvious message’: King Charles’s Greek flag tie rekindles marbles row | King Charles
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King Charles III
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‘An obvious message’: King Charles’s Greek flag tie rekindles marbles row
Athens press interpret attire at Cop28 as possible backing over
Parthenon sculptures after Greek PM snubbed by Rishi Sunak
Caroline Davies, and Helena Smith in Athens

Fri 1 Dec 2023 18.11 CET
He may simply have been embracing his Greek ancestry, or thought it would complement his suit. But King Charles’s decision to
sport a tie bearing the Greek flag when he addressed Cop28 alongside the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, was bound to raise
eyebrows, given the recent diplomatic spat over the Parthenon sculptures.
The king, whose father was born in Corfu as a prince of Greece, may also have been taking a leaf out of his mother Queen
Elizabeth II’s sartorial handbook in statement dressing.
Displayed before the cameras on the world stage, his neckwear was certainly regarded in Greece as an implicit sign of support
after the row between Sunak and his Greek counterpart, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, over what are known by some in the UK as the Elgin
marbles.
Earlier this week, Sunak abruptly cancelled a face-to-face meeting with the Greek PM after an interview with the BBC in which
Mitsotakis described the retention of the marbles at the British Museum as akin to the Mona Lisa being cut in half. A
spokesperson for Sunak said later that he felt any talks were likely to be “dominated” by the row over the sculptures, which
Greece wants back.
Muted by kinghood from overt political statement, Charles may have just found a workaround to making his opinion clear. Then
again, it may simply be that he likes the tie.
A royal source said it was one of his current collection and pointed out that he had also worn it at Horse Guards Parade during the
recent South Korean state visit, as well as on previous occasions at times of news stories about Greece.
According to Greek media, the tie is a piece from the Pagoni Maison des Cravates, an upmarket boutique in Kolonaki, Athens.
If it was a pointed message, either it was lost on Sunak or he didn’t mind, as the prime minister happily posted a picture of
himself with the monarch on the social media platform X.
The Greek City Times website wrote: “Just a few days after the uproar caused in Great Britain and Greece by Rishi Sunak’s unfair
treatment of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, King Charles III appeared to take a stand by choosing an obvious message, perhaps much
stronger than any statement.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/dec/01/king-charles-greek-flag-tie-rekindles-marbles-row-parthenon-marbles 1/7
1/23/24, 10:27 AM ‘An obvious message’: King Charles’s Greek flag tie rekindles marbles row | King Charles III | The Guardian
“It could well be interpreted as a gesture of support for our country against the background of both the controversy for the
Parthenon sculptures as well as after the indecent move of the British prime minister to cancel the planned meeting he had with
Kyriakos Mitsotakis during the Greek prime minister’s visit to London.”
The Greek news portal Iefimerida agreed: “The king of Britain’s choice could be interpreted as a display of support for our
country in the long-running dispute over the Parthenon sculptures,” it opined.
Charles, who regularly holidays in the country of his father’s birth, has spoken of “feeling a profound connection to Greece – her
landscape, her history and her culture”.
On Friday, Stanley Johnson, father of the former prime minister Boris and a former Euro MP, weighed into the row, telling
Greece’s public broadcaster, ERT, that the moment had come to repatriate the marbles.
Citing polls that showed support among Britons rising sharply for the marbles’ return to Greece, he said: “I do strongly believe
that this is a moment to move on with the Greek marbles … to reunite this collection in a place where they can be properly looked
after. I do believe there are real questions as to whether they were legally brought to Britain … My understanding is that he [Lord
Elgin] used the marbles to finance an expensive divorce in this country. I think we have to say to ourselves, this is the moment we
cannot continue [holding on to them].”
Elizabeth II is also believed to have used outfits to impart a wider message. When she opened parliament in 2017 in a cornflower
blue hat with yellow decorations, while announcing legislation to prepare the UK for its departure from the European Union, her
choice of headwear was immediately compared to the EU flag. Guy Verhofstadt, then the European parliament’s lead negotiator
on Brexit, even tweeted: “Clearly, the EU still inspires some in the UK #QueensSpeech.”
The late queen also famously wore an outfit in the blue and yellow of Ukraine when she opened London’s Elizabeth underground
line, named after her, in 2022.
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1/23/24, 10:27 AM ‘An obvious message’: King Charles’s Greek flag tie rekindles marbles row | King Charles

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