Bureau Recommends: Lobbying by Prince Charles’ charities

Flickr/European Union 2011 PE-EP/Pietro Naj-Oleari

The Bureau recommends an investigation by the Guardian into the lobbying activity of Prince Charles’ charities.

The charities have lobbied the government on politically sensitive topics including VAT rates and EU regional development spending.

Charles is the president of 20 charities, 18 of which were founded by him. The monarchy no longer has any political power under the constitution in the UK and the prince’s role is to remain largely a symbolic figurehead.

The information was revealed though a series of Freedom of Information Requests, showing correspondence between the monarch’s charities, ministers and officials in four government departments.

Professor Adam Tonkins, an expert in constitutional law said the interventions by Charles’ charities undermined royalty’s traditional non-involvement in politics.

Paul Richards, a former ministerial adviser, who handled lobbying from the prince said he felt the interventions were given priority in Whitehall.

“There was a frisson of excitement when a letter came in from Charles and there was easy, open-door access for his office and charities in a way I felt other organisations would struggle to match”, he said.

It has also emerged that in June the prince held meeting with 10 government ministers. This included talks at Clarence House with chancellor, George Osborne, education secretary, Michael Gove, international development secretary, Andrew Mitchell and environment secretary, Caroline Spelman.

The details of the meetings remain private as communication between the royal family and public bodies are exempt under the Freedom of Information Act. These exemptions do not apply to charities.