The Queen fears that Britain may not be ready for the radical new style of monarchy envisaged by her eldest son, according to the new biography of the Prince of Wales. Catherine Mayer, the author, says that the prince intends to be a more campaigning kind of sovereign than his mother, but some courtiers at Buckingham Palace — as well as the Queen herself — feel that the country is not prepared for the “shock of the new”. Mayer also says that the Duke of Edinburgh is among his harshest critics and believes the prince to be guilty of “selfish behaviour” in putting his “cerebral passions” before his royal duties. --Valentine Low,
The Times, 2 February 2015
The Prince of Wales' preparations for an activist monarchy have prompted a backlash, as a new book revealed a dysfunctional and divided court around him. Someone with close links to the Palace said: "It is no accident that he writes all those letters to ministers. He does see himself as a kind of saviour of the nation, someone who can mend the broken country. Some might see that as presumptuously messianic." --John Rentoul and James Hanning, --
The Independent on Sunday, 1 February 2015
Prince Charles has launched a blistering attack on companies that are actively seeking to delay progress on preventing runaway climate change. Highlighting the need for a radical shift in the way the economy is run, he said that over the past decade he has been met by either indifference from mainstream business leaders and economists, or outright opposition. In the more than 100 meetings and seminars he has attended since then, the prince said he had “experienced every sort of reaction to the suggestions from myself and many others that time is running out. The negative reactions have ranged from polite indifference to the pronouncement by an economist – who else - that I was ‘the enemy of the enlightenment’.” --Jo Confino,
The Guardian 28 January 2015
The Prince of Wales “consorted” with Labour ministers to get tougher Government policies on climate change, it has been claimed. The prince also helped persuade Tony Blair to turn against genetically modified food, Michael Meacher, the former environment minister, said. Mr Meacher said the Prince helped him push Tony Blair for more radical action on climate change and to block GM foods. Asked whether such lobbying caused a “constitutional problem,” Mr Meacher said: “Well, over GM I suppose you could well say that. Maybe he was pushing it a bit. I was delighted, of course.” --Matthew Holehouse,
The Daily Telegraph, 29 June 2014
The Prince of Wales has warned that mankind is on the brink of “committing suicide on a grand scale” unless urgent progress is made in tackling green issues such as carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, intensive farming and resource depletion. Adopting uncharacteristically apocalyptic language, the Prince said the world was heading towards a “terrifying point of no return” and that future generations faced an “unimaginable future” on a toxic planet. But Dr Benny Peiser, director of Lord Lawson’s Global Warming Policy Foundation, said the Prince’s views were still out of step with mainstream thinking. “He is really a good representative of the environmental movement as such and it is not a personal issue,” he said. But he added that the “extreme alarm and extreme concern” was “over the top and not helpful to the debate. It doesn’t convince any governments or any ministers and in the end it is over the top and won’t be heard.” --Jonathan Brown,
The Independent, 23 November 2012
As future king, Charles must take care not to let his passion for such vital issues turn into political campaigning, which could lay him open to accusations of abusing his constitutional position. His frequent ‘black spider memos' to ministers are already notorious and, in a new documentary, three leading figures from the Blair government tell how he also sought to influence public policy on his pet subjects by backstairs lobbying. Most worryingly, former environment minister Michael Meacher revealed how he and the Prince would ‘consort quietly' to affect policy on GM crops and climate change and ‘try to ensure we increased our influence within government'. Charles is not an elected politician nor the head of some pressure group. He is heir to the throne and, as such, must remain above the fray of party politics – as his mother has done with supreme skill for over 50 years. --Editorial,
Daily Mail, 30 June 2014
