King Charles III addressed the COP28 summit in Dubai on Friday wearing a tie emblazoned with the Greek flag, in a week that saw a big diplomatic bust-up between London and Athens.
The dispute erupted after Rishi Sunak, UK prime minister, cancelled a meeting with his Greek counterpart on Tuesday, accusing Kyriakos Mitsotakis of using a BBC interview ahead of his planned visit to Downing Street to “grandstand” in the longstanding rift over the so-called Elgin Marbles.
Parts of the Greek media seized on the British monarch’s choice of neckwear as a signal that he had some sympathy with Mitsotakis and his quest to return the Parthenon sculptures from the British Museum to Athens.