An attempt to bring a private prosecution against King Charles III has reached an international court, according to a report published by the Malvern Gazette on 7 June 2025.

The bid, which originated as a private prosecution effort in the United Kingdom, has now been escalated to an international judicial body. The report does not specify which international court or tribunal has received the filing, nor does it identify the individual or individuals behind the attempt.

Private prosecutions in England and Wales are brought by private individuals or organisations rather than by the Crown Prosecution Service. Any such attempt against the monarch would face significant procedural obstacles. Under long-standing constitutional doctrine, the Sovereign is personally immune from criminal prosecution, a principle that dates back to the earliest foundations of English common law. The maxim that the King can do no wrong underpins both sovereign immunity from suit and the doctrine that criminal proceedings cannot be instituted against the reigning monarch in the monarch's own courts.

The report gives no details of the alleged conduct underlying the attempted prosecution, the legal basis invoked for the international filing, or the stage the matter has reached before the international body concerned.

For practitioners, the development is a reminder of the boundaries of private prosecution procedure and the doctrine of sovereign immunity. Attempts to circumvent domestic immunity by resort to international forums have historically faced jurisdictional hurdles: international criminal tribunals generally operate under statutes that require the consent of states and, in most cases, do not confer standing on private litigants to initiate prosecutions. Any international filing of this kind would need to clear those threshold questions of admissibility and standing before any substantive consideration could occur.

The Crown has made no public comment on the matter, and no domestic court has issued any ruling in connection with the attempt.