Charles sets out rules on being king in waiting

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[WilliamDaily] Charles sets out rules on being king in waiting



June 02, 2003

Charles sets out rules on being king in waiting
By Dominic Kennedy

THE Prince of Wales is to publish a brochure officially defining the
role of the heir to the British throne, explaining how he sees his
job and providing a guide for Prince William.
Prince Charles, 54, will say that his function is to support the
monarch, to act as an ambassador for the country and to do
charitable work.

The Prince, who has irritated ministers by writing to them about
topical issues, may also state that it is his duty to tell the
powerful what the ordinary person is thinking.

His paper will draw from the colourful heritage of previous heirs to
the throne, choosing examples to show what they thought the job
meant.

The initiative was criticised by Kenneth Rose, the Windsor family
historian, who feared that a written document might become an
inflexible burden.

"I don't think it really is for the Prince of Wales to tie himself
to what he thinks a Prince of Wales should do," Mr Rose said. "All
sorts of things change.

"I don't think you want to write about the role, you just want to
carry it out. This gives you more latitude. If you produce a
document, you may put in things that you regret in a year or two."

A spokeswoman for St James's Palace said: "We are writing a
brochure. It will just say a little bit about how the Prince of
Wales has interpreted the role and how previous Princes of Wales
have interpreted that role."

The Prince believed that he was there to support the monarch in all
that she did. "He is there as an ambassador for the country. Beyond
that, the Prince of Wales does charitable work."

The spokewoman said that his views about modern architecture or
organic farming were probably included in his charitable work. "He
is trying to make a little bit of a difference for the better for
people in this country.

"For example, the Prince's Trust came out of his own interest in
young people and trying to help them develop.

"He thinks people's surroundings affect their behaviour. That helped
him to create the Prince's Foundation about the built environment."

As for politics, "he doesn't express views on political matters
anyway. The Royal Family don't. Yes, he does write to ministers. He
gets thousands of letters. If he is getting lots and lots of letters
on a particular issue, the role he sees himself as having is trying
to raise an issue which they may not be able to do."

The Prince is to publish two more brochures to improve the
transparency of his affairs. One will highlight his charitable
endeavours, the other will explain how he spends his money and the
tasks performed by his office and staff.

He already describes his role in brief on his website, which notes
the lack of formal guidance he experienced as a young heir, a void
he seems keen to fill for William.

Lord Morgan, a member of a Fabian Society committee on the monarchy,
noted Prince Charles's campaigning work for young people and ethnic
minorities.

He said: "The point would be that he does these things as a
prominent individual and not with any constitutional or legal weight
to what he says."

Lord Morgan suggested that Prince Charles might do a little bit more
for Wales and encourage William to do the same. "He is so often
pictured as a sort of Victor Meldrew character, saying the world is
going to the dogs. I'm sure he is a much more positive person than
that."

Procreate and do not provoke

Kenneth Rose, 78, author of Kings, Queens and Courtiers: Intimate
Portraits of the Royal House of Windsor and the award-winning King
George V, defines the heir's role in practical terms ? "to continue
the hereditary monarchy and to support the machinery of the
monarchy".

Testing previous Princes of Wales against that standard, he said
that Edward VIII had been a poor example by failing to provide an
heir. "George V complained that Edward was aged about 40 and had no
woman friends who were not either married or divorced ? no suitable
wife. That really enraged George V. The only point of a monarchy is
that it has to survive. The first role of the Prince of Wales is to
ensure that the dynasty continues. Prince Charles gets full marks
for that."

Edward VIII also showed the danger of dabbling in politics, Mr Rose
said. "It's absolutely hair-raising how tender the future Edward
VIII was towards Nazi Germany. The one thing the Sovereign and the
Prince of Wales ought not to be is divisive." He had, however, been
a successful ambassador in the Empire, Mr Rose said, being greeted
with "hysterical frenzy wherever he went".

The future Edward VII "was something else. He really appealed to
people's hearts. He won the Derby several times and there were
scandals."

The future George V did several Empire tours but "just spent an
awful lot of time living the life of a country gentleman at
Sandringham".

Mr Rose said: "This tradition of abrasive relations between the
Sovereign and the Prince of Wales was probably at its worst
with "Prinny", the future George IV, and George III."