Queen Elizabeth is reportedly furious with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown over plans for school children to swear an oath to her.
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A spokesman for the queen’s London residence Buckingham Palace insists they were never consulted about the recommendations in a report by former Attorney General Lord Goldsmith, commissioned by Brown, which suggested youngsters should pledge their allegiance to the crown.
In a rare on-the-record statement, a palace spokesman said: “What we would like to say is that Buckingham Palace was not consulted with regard to the Goldsmith review.”
The Goldsmith report recommended American-style allegiance ceremonies and citizenship classes to help pupils embrace their “Britishness”.
The queen is reportedly angry that Goldsmith implied his review had the full authority of the royals by including the name of her former Private Secretary Lord Janvrin among a “list of individuals and organisations that have contributed to the review”.
Royal insiders claim Lord Janvrin only had one conversation with Lord Goldsmith, in which the subject of an oath was never raised, and added that his retirement in September meant he was “not consulted as a member of the Royal Household”.
A royal source told the Mail on Sunday: “Lord Janvrin purely had conversations or I think just a single conversation, not in relation to anything in particular, but just about the monarchy in general. No particular items arose from those conversations.”
A Ministry of Justice spokesman, responding on behalf of Lord Goldsmith, refused to comment on why the report implied Lord Janvrin’s involvement.
They said: “This is an independent review reporting to the government, it is not a government report. It makes no recommendation on the inclusion of the oath in citizenship ceremonies for young people. It is an issue raised only for consideration.
“No decision would be taken without wide consultation, including with the Buckingham Palace.”
