The Prince of Wales's letters

Hear hear Bags

www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cartoon/2012/oct/16/steve-bell-prince-charles-cartoon?fb=native

The republican campaign (obviously!!) has a lot to say about it too!

Obviously he's said something they don't want us to know about and as it was to Labour ministers it was likely to be about education, social care, the NHS, benefits or something else that the rich think we should be able to pay for ourselves.

The poor devil grabs at any loony thing that passes by and attempts to get it into the mainstream - he's been suckered by con-men all his life, I think. The whole family seems to have a touching faith in homeopathy, for example, and he wants to be not 'Defender of the Faith', but 'Defender of Faiths' - as though such a thing were possible, and didn't leave those of no faith (half the population roughly) without his magic 'defence'...

Hitch was succinct: "We have known for a long time that Prince Charles’ empty sails are so rigged as to be swelled by any passing waft or breeze of crankiness and cant. He fell for the fake anthropologist Laurens van der Post." And that was just the beginning...

I think it's sad.

The issue is not just concerning the usual bees in the royal bonnet or should that be the usual bats in the royal belfry? Both the Queen and Prince Charles are consulted about certain pieces of proposed legislation that might affect them personally. For example, in his role as Duke of Cornwall, Prince Charles was consulted about changes to the coastguard service. What we don't know – and should be told – is what changes he and the Queen required.

Call me thick but I'm baffled by the reason given for not releasing the correspondence .... that it would undermine his political neutrality.

By keeping them secret we have to assume the letters were politically biased or could be read as such - therefore he was not being 'neutral' and that's what would undermine his political neutrality.

Let him write all the letters he wants, if it keeps him quiet, then he should move aside for William.

I'm all in favour of his moving side but I don't think we need to replace him with anyone.