Charles fights Channel 4 on his 'meddling'
Andrew Alderson, Chief Reporter, Sunday Telegraph
04/03/2007
The Prince of Wales is locked in a bitter dispute with television bosses over a programme that questions his fitness to be king.
Prince Charles was accused of being 'too political' and of 'meddling' in the affairs of the state. Unlike the public and, obviously, politicians, Royals and monarchs are not allowed any say in politics and cannot vote in elections.
Prince Charles stands accused in a documentary from Channel 4 of being "too political" and of "meddling" in the affairs of state. The programme will also claim that the prince has used "questionable" financial arrangements to run the Duchy of Cornwall, the landed estate that provides him with an annual income of more than £14 million.
Clarence House, the prince's private office, is furious at the allegations and is preparing a "robust" response this weekend. Senior royal aides will fiercely deny that Prince Charles has ever become involved in party politics and will argue that, as Prince of Wales, he is filling a perfectly legitimate role, merely seeking to be "relevant" when he makes public statements.
However, the Dispatches documentary team, which has carried out a six-month investigation into the prince's affairs, claims to have uncovered evidence of "secret lobbying and interference" and will say that financial savings have been found to fund the heir to the throne's "extravagant" way of life.
Charles: The Meddling Prince, which is due to be broadcast a week tomorrow, will contrast Prince Charles's role with that of his mother, who has reigned for 55 years.
"While the Queen has always adhered to her constitutional role and kept her opinions to herself, her son has proved an outspoken and controversial figure," the programme will claim.
Royal aides describe such criticisms as "ludicrous" and insist that the prince has always made clear that he would behave differently as king from the way in which he does as Prince of Wales, a position that he believes allows him some freedom to express his views on issues of the day. One friend of the prince accused the programme's makers of setting out to do a "hatchet job".
The programme is the latest in a series of disputes between Clarence House and Channel 4. In November 1998 another Dispatches programme to mark the prince's 50th birthday portrayed him as a lazy, greedy man whose concern for the environment was little more than skin deep.
The latest row will do nothing to help Luke Johnson, the chairman of Channel 4, who attracted widespread criticism for failing to halt alleged racism in the recent Celebrity Big Brother show.
Prince Charles has aired views on a range of subjects in recent years, including global warming, organic farming, education, alternative health remedies and modern architecture. The prince, 58, has been determined to find a purposeful role for himself while his mother continues on the throne.
A spokesman said: "Prince Charles will one day be crowned King of England - a position which by constitutional convention is politically neutral. But in the six-month investigation, Dispatches reveals a number of serious concerns: the extent of his political ambition and interference, the measures he employs to silence his critics, and questionable financial arrangements, which raise questions of his suitability for the throne and the future of the monarchy.
"The programme reveals the extent of the prince's political lobbying, with a former royal insider disclosing the frequency and regularity of letters he sends to ministers on a whole range of subjects."
Friends of the prince are speculating that the insider is Mark Bolland, the former deputy private secretary to the heir to the throne.
Mr Bolland has criticised his former employer in public, once describing him as "very, very weak". In a witness statement for a civil court case last year, he claimed that the prince often became involved in "politically sensitive" issues, though he conceded that the prince sought to avoid party politics.
Last night, friends of Mr Bolland said that he had not given an interview for the documentary.
The Duchy of Cornwall estate is also a target of the programme's makers. Documents have apparently been obtained "which uncover the huge financial savings that the duchy makes, thanks to its unique ability to avoid paying corporation tax and capital gains tax".
A spokesman for Prince Charles said: "We are going to send a long and detailed response which contests and disproves all the points that are being raised. For example, the duchy pays income tax and nobody on earth pays income tax and corporation tax."
WHAT MONARCHS CAN AND CANNOT DO
Royals and Monarchs are politically neutral - they cannot vote in elections nor talk about party politics in public. That's what makes the Constitutional Monarchy much more democratic than a Republic - Britain's Head of State, unlike, say, America's, is politically neutral and therefore represents ALL the people, whereas in reality the President of a republic really only represents those who voted for him/her.
What the Monarch CAN do
If the Queen pleases, she can ride in a horse carriage down Rotten Row (a broad track in a corner of Hyde Park in London), where other people can only ride horseback.
Her picture will appear on postage stamps, but she will not need them; her personal mail is franked.
She can drive as fast as she likes in a car which needs no license number.
She can tell her sister Margaret when she can marry, and will surely advise her on whom to marry.
She can confer Britain's highest civilian decoration, the Order of Merit—one honor in which the Sovereign retains freedom of choice.
---------------------------------
What the Monarch CANNOT do
Elizabeth cannot vote.
Nor can she express any shading of political opinion in public.
The last monarch who did that was George III, who in 1780 personally canvassed Windsor against the Whig candidate Keppel.
Elizabeth cannot sit in the House of Commons, even though the building is royal property.
She addresses the opening session of each Parliament, but she CANNOT write her own speech.
She cannot refuse to sign a bill of Parliament.
She cannot appear as a witness in court, or rent property from her subjects.
• The Duchess of Cornwall will have a hysterectomy tomorrow, sources disclosed yesterday. It is thought that Camilla, 59, who returned last week from a 10-day tour of the Gulf with the Prince of Wales, may be admitted to the private King Edward VII Hospital in London for the procedure.
The duchess will have to spend several days in hospital and rest for six weeks afterwards. Clarence House described the operation as routine and not cancer-related.
telegraph.co.uk
Andrew Alderson, Chief Reporter, Sunday Telegraph
04/03/2007
The Prince of Wales is locked in a bitter dispute with television bosses over a programme that questions his fitness to be king.
Prince Charles was accused of being 'too political' and of 'meddling' in the affairs of the state. Unlike the public and, obviously, politicians, Royals and monarchs are not allowed any say in politics and cannot vote in elections.
Prince Charles stands accused in a documentary from Channel 4 of being "too political" and of "meddling" in the affairs of state. The programme will also claim that the prince has used "questionable" financial arrangements to run the Duchy of Cornwall, the landed estate that provides him with an annual income of more than £14 million.
Clarence House, the prince's private office, is furious at the allegations and is preparing a "robust" response this weekend. Senior royal aides will fiercely deny that Prince Charles has ever become involved in party politics and will argue that, as Prince of Wales, he is filling a perfectly legitimate role, merely seeking to be "relevant" when he makes public statements.
However, the Dispatches documentary team, which has carried out a six-month investigation into the prince's affairs, claims to have uncovered evidence of "secret lobbying and interference" and will say that financial savings have been found to fund the heir to the throne's "extravagant" way of life.
Charles: The Meddling Prince, which is due to be broadcast a week tomorrow, will contrast Prince Charles's role with that of his mother, who has reigned for 55 years.
"While the Queen has always adhered to her constitutional role and kept her opinions to herself, her son has proved an outspoken and controversial figure," the programme will claim.
Royal aides describe such criticisms as "ludicrous" and insist that the prince has always made clear that he would behave differently as king from the way in which he does as Prince of Wales, a position that he believes allows him some freedom to express his views on issues of the day. One friend of the prince accused the programme's makers of setting out to do a "hatchet job".
The programme is the latest in a series of disputes between Clarence House and Channel 4. In November 1998 another Dispatches programme to mark the prince's 50th birthday portrayed him as a lazy, greedy man whose concern for the environment was little more than skin deep.
The latest row will do nothing to help Luke Johnson, the chairman of Channel 4, who attracted widespread criticism for failing to halt alleged racism in the recent Celebrity Big Brother show.
Prince Charles has aired views on a range of subjects in recent years, including global warming, organic farming, education, alternative health remedies and modern architecture. The prince, 58, has been determined to find a purposeful role for himself while his mother continues on the throne.
A spokesman said: "Prince Charles will one day be crowned King of England - a position which by constitutional convention is politically neutral. But in the six-month investigation, Dispatches reveals a number of serious concerns: the extent of his political ambition and interference, the measures he employs to silence his critics, and questionable financial arrangements, which raise questions of his suitability for the throne and the future of the monarchy.
"The programme reveals the extent of the prince's political lobbying, with a former royal insider disclosing the frequency and regularity of letters he sends to ministers on a whole range of subjects."
Friends of the prince are speculating that the insider is Mark Bolland, the former deputy private secretary to the heir to the throne.
Mr Bolland has criticised his former employer in public, once describing him as "very, very weak". In a witness statement for a civil court case last year, he claimed that the prince often became involved in "politically sensitive" issues, though he conceded that the prince sought to avoid party politics.
Last night, friends of Mr Bolland said that he had not given an interview for the documentary.
The Duchy of Cornwall estate is also a target of the programme's makers. Documents have apparently been obtained "which uncover the huge financial savings that the duchy makes, thanks to its unique ability to avoid paying corporation tax and capital gains tax".
A spokesman for Prince Charles said: "We are going to send a long and detailed response which contests and disproves all the points that are being raised. For example, the duchy pays income tax and nobody on earth pays income tax and corporation tax."
WHAT MONARCHS CAN AND CANNOT DO
Royals and Monarchs are politically neutral - they cannot vote in elections nor talk about party politics in public. That's what makes the Constitutional Monarchy much more democratic than a Republic - Britain's Head of State, unlike, say, America's, is politically neutral and therefore represents ALL the people, whereas in reality the President of a republic really only represents those who voted for him/her.
What the Monarch CAN do
If the Queen pleases, she can ride in a horse carriage down Rotten Row (a broad track in a corner of Hyde Park in London), where other people can only ride horseback.
Her picture will appear on postage stamps, but she will not need them; her personal mail is franked.
She can drive as fast as she likes in a car which needs no license number.
She can tell her sister Margaret when she can marry, and will surely advise her on whom to marry.
She can confer Britain's highest civilian decoration, the Order of Merit—one honor in which the Sovereign retains freedom of choice.
---------------------------------
What the Monarch CANNOT do
Elizabeth cannot vote.
Nor can she express any shading of political opinion in public.
The last monarch who did that was George III, who in 1780 personally canvassed Windsor against the Whig candidate Keppel.
Elizabeth cannot sit in the House of Commons, even though the building is royal property.
She addresses the opening session of each Parliament, but she CANNOT write her own speech.
She cannot refuse to sign a bill of Parliament.
She cannot appear as a witness in court, or rent property from her subjects.
• The Duchess of Cornwall will have a hysterectomy tomorrow, sources disclosed yesterday. It is thought that Camilla, 59, who returned last week from a 10-day tour of the Gulf with the Prince of Wales, may be admitted to the private King Edward VII Hospital in London for the procedure.
The duchess will have to spend several days in hospital and rest for six weeks afterwards. Clarence House described the operation as routine and not cancer-related.
telegraph.co.uk
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