King Charles III ends silence on U.K. far-right riots

King Charles III praises police response to riots, offers condolences to victims' families, sparking debate on royal involvement.

King Charles III on Friday (August 9, 2024) made his first comments about riots that have shaken British cities to praise the work of police in countering the violence.

While the monarch and Queen Camilla conveyed their condolences to the families of three girls killed in a mass stabbing on July 29, Buckingham Palace had not commented on the near-daily riots which followed.

The King praised British police and emergency services "for all they are doing to restore peace in those areas that have been affected by violent disorder", according to a Buckingham Palace spokesperson.

He hoped the "shared values of mutual respect and understanding will continue to strengthen and unite the nation", the spokesperson added.

Many observers had been watching to see if the King, who is on his annual summer holiday in Scotland, would end his noticeable silence on the disturbances.

Hundreds of people have been arrested in the near-nightly unrest that hit cities across England and in Northern Ireland and which authorities have blamed on far-right agitators.

Officials say the rioters took advantage of the killings of the girls in the northwestern English coastal town of Southport to launch racist and Islamophobic protests. The suspect accused of the killings was born in Britain.