The Prince of Wales was secretly given a say over new laws to ban hunting and to introduce the Government’s green deal, the Government has revealed.
10:00PM GMT 15 Feb 2013
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The Prince of Wales was secretly given a say over dozens of new laws, including those to ban hunting and to introduce the Government’s green deal, the Government has revealed.
A Freedom of Information request disclosed that the Prince has been consulted on an average of three laws every year over the past 11 years. Inall he was consulted on 33 laws over past 11 years, far higher than previously disclosed.
The heir to the Throne is allowed under Britain’s constitution to be consulted on legislation that might affect his private interests.
This relates to the Duchy of Cornwall, which controls financial investment portfolio and land totalling 209 square miles, worth hundreds of millions of pounds.
The House of Commons’ Erskine May rule book states the Prince or the Queen must be asked for their consent about laws which affect “the hereditary revenues, personal property or interests of the Crown, the Duchy of Lancaster or Duchy of Cornwall”.
The Prince was most recently asked for his consent for the energy bill in September 2011, which passed into law the Government’s green deal which encourages homeowners to take out a loan to make their house more energy-efficient.
He was also asked about the Hunting Bill in July 2003, the same month that MPs voted on a free ballot to ban hunting with dogs in the UK.
However it was not clear last night why the Prince was given the opportunity to comment on some of the legislation such as the the Finance Bill in July 2004, which enacted Chancellor Gordon Brown’s Budget of that year.
He was also asked for his opinion about the Licensing Bill in June 2003, which was criticised for legalising 24 hour drinking after it came into force in November 2005.
The Prince was also asked for his consent on the Communications Bill in March 2003, which set up new regulations to govern the media.
Others include the Health and Social Care Bill (July 2003), Companies Bill (October 2006) as well as the Land Registration Bill (February 2002).
Apart from a couple of exceptions, the Prince was asked for his opinion on the laws at the third reading stage, when the legislation had been debated by MPs.
Last night Labour MPs expressed concern that the Prince had been intervening in the affairs of Parliament on so many occasions.
Paul Flynn MP, a Labour member of the Commons Public Administration Select Committee, said he was worried that the Prince could jeopardise the Monarchy if he attempted to intervene politically when he succeeds to the throne.
He said: “There are doubts about Prince Charles and whether he is persistently intervening on political matters. There must be a grave doubt whether he will remain silent if he should become Monarch.”
Last night a spokesman for Clarence House said the Prince of Wales’s consent was only sought on bills that affected the Duchy of Cornwall.
She said: “The Prince’s Consent is a matter of standard parliamentary procedure and every instance of The Prince’s consent having been sought and given to legislation is a matter of public record.
“In modern times, The Prince of Wales has never refused consent to any bill affecting Duchy of Cornwall interests. If it were to ever happen, he would only do so at the advice of Ministers.”
The Prince of Wales has been dubbed the "meddling prince" because of the way that he has held meetings with ministers and written to them about policy areas that interest him.
Last September, Sir Stephen Lamport, his former private secretary, suggeseted people might question the Prince's "political neutrality" when he becomes King if his private letters to ministers are made public.
The Prince has faced criticism for sending the letters - known as “black spider memos” because of his handwriting - to ministers, marked private and confidential, setting out his views on aspects of government policy.
Sir Stephen said the Prince thought that writing to Government ministers prepares him for when he is made king and will stop the controversial practice when he is crowned.
