Queen speaks publicly on Brexit for first time during Dutch royal visit

James Morris|Olivia Tobin24 October 2018

The Queen has spoken publicly about Brexit for the first time.

During a state banquet for the King of the Netherlands and his wife Queen Maxima, she said that "as we look toward a new partnership with Europe", the values shared by the UK and Holland "are our greatest assets".

In front of a watching Theresa May at Buckingham Palace, the Queen added that as "innovators, traders and internationalists we look with confidence to the future".

The Queen, who is impartial in political matters, chose to emphasise the qualities needed by the UK and one of its closet European neighbours going forward – as UK politicians continue to be bitterly divided by Brexit.

Buckingham Palace banquet for Dutch royals: In Pictures

1/17

Earlier, in a speech to both Houses of Parliament, King Willem-Alexander urged the government to lift the "shadow of uncertainty" hanging over Dutch nationals living in Britain after Brexit.

And in his address at the Palace dinner, with Ms May seated nearby, the foreign head of state continued: "At present, a lot of attention is focused on the 'technical' side of Brexit. That's understandable and necessary.

"But in the midst of all that complexity we should not lose sight of the greater narrative that continues to bind us. The greater narrative of freedom, openness and cooperation. Of growth and a prosperity whose fruits are enjoyed by all."

Also present were Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Duchess of Cornwall.

King Willem-Alexander also met Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in private before the banquet.

Additional reporting by Press Association.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in