Prince Charles, Prince of Wales talks to guests as he attends the Commonwealth Big Lunch on Wednesday — Image caption The foundations for the Prince of Wales to take the lead had been laid

The Queen's very public plea that the Prince of Wales should succeed her as head of the Commonwealth may have surprised some of the government leaders sitting in the ballroom of Buckingham Palace.

But it came as no surprise to those within Whitehall who had been planning and campaigning for this moment for years.

Read full article 'No other options' for Commonwealth head?

So is Britain hesitating before joining the United States and France in launching air strikes against Syrian targets?

Senior figures in Downing Street deny this adamantly. But there are some voices in Whitehall who believe Theresa May might be displaying her usual caution.

Read full article Syria decision looms for May

Theresa May arriving at the European Council meeting in Brussels, 23 March 2018

The WhatsApp group is both a bane and boon to modern working life. Her Majesty's Foreign and Commonwealth Office is no exception. And in a recent exchange between senior officials at King Charles Street a simple phrase expressed the collective frustration of many: "(Expletive) elephants!"

This was a reference to the increasing occupation of the foreign secretary with the welfare of animals. A brief perusal of Boris Johnson's Twitter feed confirms this. He is much concerned with the trafficking of pangolins.

Read full article Has the Russian row given UK diplomacy new focus?

A still image taken from an undated video shows Sergei Skripal — Image caption A video still shows Sergei Skripal being detained by Russian security services in 2004

Britain's relations with Russia are already cool. The attempted murder of a former Russian spy in Salisbury could plunge that relationship even deeper into the diplomatic permafrost.

Before the basic facts of the case have been established, both sides have indulged in an early exchange of fire.

Read full article Russian spy: What now for the UK/Russia relationship?

Media captionFive things about Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

Mohammed bin Salman is just 32 years old. He is Saudi Arabia's crown prince - not its head of state - and he has only been in his post for nine months.

Yet when this relative novice on the world stage arrives in London on his first global tour since taking office, he will be granted the reddest of red carpets.

Read full article Why Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's UK visit matters

When Boris Johnson arrives in Tehran this weekend, the foreign secretary will be required to perform some nifty diplomatic footwork even before he comes to address the case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

For relations between Britain and the Islamic Republic of Iran are delicate at the best of times.

Read full article Boris Johnson under pressure over jailed mum in Iran case

Image caption UN Security Council members cast their vote during a meeting on the election of five members of the International Court of Justice.

The International Court of Justice is the principal legal body of the United Nations. It is based in The Hague and its job is to settle disputes between states.

Lots of its work is highly technical and not exactly the stuff of the front pages. And let's be honest, many people would probably not have known that one of the 15 judges had always been British ever since the court was set up after the Second World War.

Read full article How UK lost International Court of Justice place to India

Iranian-British aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe with her husband Richard Ratcliffe and her daughter Gabriella — Image caption Iranian-British aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe denies the charge of trying to overthrow the Iranian regime

When a British citizen is jailed overseas, as has happened with Iranian-British woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, they normally get basic consular help from the local embassy.

This could include anything from contacting family to legal support to medical help. But if the UK were to assert its diplomatic protection over a British citizen - an option that Downing Street says is being considered in this case - that would change things significantly.

Read full article What is diplomatic protection?

US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May

There was a time when President Trump's refusal to certify the Iran nuclear deal would have sent the British foreign policy establishment into a tailspin.

His campaign attacks on what he called "the worst deal in the world" left policymakers in the UK fearing that here, finally, was an issue on which Britain's relationship with the US could founder.

Read full article What do Trump's words on Iran mean for US/UK relations?

Crowds listen to Catalan President Carles Puigdemont speak via a televised press conference at the Placa de Catalunya on October 1, 2017 in Barcelona — Image caption Catalan separatists celebrated in Barcelona after polls closed

So where the cries of outrage? Where the statements of condemnation, the tweets of shock at the violence meted out on the voters of Catalonia at the hands of the Spanish police?

In Europe's capitals there has been an echoing silence. Most heads of government - who feel quite able to respond to the slightest turn of the Brexit saga - appear to have lost their tongues.

Read full article EU looks away as Catalan crisis unfolds