King Charles invites Sir Keir Starmer and devolved government leaders for dinner at Windsor Castle…..See More

The dinner on Wednesday comes after Downing Street denied involving the monarch in politics after he appeared alongside the prime minister and Angela Rayner at a housing project in Cornwall.

King Charles will host the prime minister and the first ministers of the devolved governments at Windsor Castle on Wednesday night, Sky News understands.

The monarch has invited John Swinney, the Scottish first minister, to the Berkshire royal residence, along with Northern Irish First Minister Michelle O’Neill, Northern Irish Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly and Welsh first minister Eluned Morgan, it is understood.

The King hosts a number of informal dinners at Windsor Castle for a wide variety of guests from across the arts, science, charity and politics each year.

However, the latest event risks adding fuel to the criticism that the King is intervening in politics after he joined Sir Keir Starmer and his deputy Angela Rayner on a rare engagement to see a housing project in Cornwall on Monday.

The monarch Sir Keir and Ms Rayner carried out three engagements in Nansledan, a 540-acre extension to the seaside town of Newquay.

The visit is understood to have followed conversations about housing over the past few months between King Charles and Sir Keir, during which the Nansledan project was mentioned.