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| Prince Charles |
After years of battling the government, the private letters
sent by the Prince of Wales to Labour government ministers a decade ago have been published finally. The papers were
hailed by Catherine Mayer, who has written an unofficial biography of Prince Charles,
said the prince ''felt passionately'' about the issues he wrote about. The
topics of the letters actually varied, from heavy issues like the Prince’s fear
about the British air force’s readiness during the campaign in Iraq, to lighter
issues, such as the prince’s pet project.
Twenty seven notes contained 'full and frank' expression of Prince's
'most deeply-held views' on farming, bovine TB, alternative medicine and
housing.
A letter sent to Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair in September
2004 found the prince express his concern about the Army Air Corps' capacity to
send equipment. In fact, the Prince was "frustrated by the poor
performance of the existing Lynx aircraft in high temperatures" as the
Armed Forces “are being asked to do an extremely challenging job (particularly
in Iraq) without the necessary resources.”
Another letter in February 2005 to PM Blair read that
"dominant" retailers were the "single biggest issue affecting
British farmers and the food chain."
In 2004, the heir to the throne also criticized the country’s
modern teaching methods and highlighted the virtues of his Summer Schools as he
wrote to Education Secretary Charles Clarke.
The letters also touched on issues close to the prince’s
heart, most importantly, natural medicine and environment.
In February 2005, he sent a letter to Blair informing him,
of his support to 'alternative' medicines, writing about a regulation that
limit practitioners as being like 'using a sledgehammer to crack a nut'
The prince also wrote to Environment Minister Elliot Morley
in October 2004 to air his concern about illegal fishing of the Patagonian
toothfish
A 2005 communiqué saw the Prince write about a rather ironic
comment that he was already reluctant to write about issues in his mind because
of the Freedom of Information Act
And another letter to Health Secretary John Reid in February
2005 shared his concerns about the future of hospitals while at the same time
commenting that he was “at risk of being a complete bore.”
It took years before the prince’s letters were made public
following a government veto on publication that was overturned by the Court of
Appeal last year and supported by the Supreme Court in March.
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