Prince Charles’ Bore Meddles
IS Prince Charles meddling?
The Mail highlights tonight’s TV show – Charles – The Meddling Prince – and hears the Prince’s response to the charge that he interferes.
The show features Lord Wedderburn, QC, a life peer and Emeritus Professor of Law at the London School of Economics. He tells the programme: “If, in fact, nothing changed and he became King, then there would be a most almighty fuss and controversy, and eventually the whole fabric of the constitutional monarchy could be threatened”.
You might suppose a leading Royal would rise above such things as a bunch of nodding heads on a TV show, but Charles has shown himself to be a man of the people.
So on the matter of meddling in matters he knows little about, in a 33-page rebuttal Charles’ office tells us: “Neither constitutional convention nor recent legislation supports the contention that because the Prince’s interference is secret and beyond scrutiny, the Prince is abusing his unique position.”
Constitutional convention on the contention of the legislation says the man at the office of the man who would be King Catactacus. This is strong stuff.
But Charles is not just passing by. He will not, as the show suggests, bring down the monarchy.
And Charles is not weird and reactionary. Says Sir Michael Peat, the Prince’s private secretary: “His Royal Highness always consults widely before expressing a view and uses a wide range of experts.”
And if you don’t believe that you can always ask the guy who squeezes his toothpaste onto his brush of a morning and Charles’ pet begonia and confidant.
And what of his earnings? Charles’ Duchy of Cornwall earns the heir to the throne £14million a year. He pays neither capital gains tax nor corporation tax. The voice tells us: “The Prince of Wales does have a unique and very privileged tax position.”
And then there is the environment. Charles travels by aeroplane. Charles has cars. Charles is green: “His Royal Highness has stopped playing polo, in part to reduce carbon emissions, has cancelled private trips overseas.”
Nothing to do with sporting injuries or age, you understand – more to do with horses and polo wives not panting out so much carbon dioxide.
All very noble…
Posted: 12th, March 2007 | In: Tabloids Comments (3) | TrackBack | Permalink
