We’re weeks away from the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference – better known as COP27 – but there will be a distinct lack of royal presence at this year’s event.

We now understand Britain’s new monarch will forgo the upcoming summit in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. Earlier this week, several British outlets reported that UK Prime Minister Liz Truss had advised Charles III against attending.

After doing some digging, CNN understands that the King’s attendance at COP27 had not been confirmed and, following consultations with the government, it was mutually decided that the climate conference wasn’t the right occasion for Charles’ first overseas visit as sovereign. We’ve reached out to the palace for an official statement and will let you know if we hear back.

But, in a statement emailed to CNN, a COP27 spokesperson confirmed that the King had been “invited as a very special guest” and said the COP president designate was “disappointed” by the reports of his absence. It also warned the United Kingdom against dialing back its climate goals, as the Truss government reviews some of the more ambitious aspects of the UK’s Net Zero strategy.

“The Egyptian presidency of the climate conference acknowledges the longstanding and strong commitment of His Majesty to the climate cause, and believes that his presence would have been of great added value to the visibility of climate action at this critical moment. We hope that this doesn’t indicate that the UK is backtracking from the global climate agenda after presiding over COP26,” the spokesperson said. The spokesperson noted Truss was still invited in her capacity as head of the UK government.

For its part, Downing Street referred CNN to recent comments from the prime minister’s spokesman in which he declined to reveal details of the King and prime minister’s conversations “as a matter of longstanding policy.” However, the spokesman did add that “we have a proud record when it comes to COP, we are forging ahead with our plans for NetZero – 40% of our power now comes from clean energy sources and we will continue to deliver on those promises.” Downing Street said it will confirm Truss’ attendance closer to the event.