Ministers cool on prince’s remarks on Rwanda plan

British cabinet ministers have fired a warning shot at Prince Charles, who they fear will plunge the country into a constitutional crisis if he continues to meddle in government business when he becomes king.

Clarence House issued a statement on Saturday, local time, insisting Prince Charles would remain ``politically neutral’’ as monarch, despite reports he had branded the British government’s policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda ``appalling’’. His alleged comment followed a High Court ruling on Friday in favour of the policy. The first such flight to the east African country is scheduled for tomorrow.

The Times reported that the prince had been heard expressing opposition to the policy several times in private, and that he was ``more than disappointed’’ by it. Cabinet ministers are concerned by reports from courtiers that the prince wants to be more forward in stating his views.

A rift is said to have developed between the prince and Boris

Johnson because of the prime minister’s ``disrespectful’’ behaviour during the men’s first meeting.

One senior cabinet minister said: ``Prince Charles is an adornment to our public life, but that will cease to be charming if he attempts to behave the same way when he is king. That will present serious constitutional issues.

``A lot of his views on architecture and horticulture are interesting, and I would always be willing to listen to them privately. But that’s very different from him making public interventions as monarch. The Queen’s genius is that most of us have no idea what she thinks.’’

Another cabinet minister said: ``His mother has set the gold standard, and that’s the standard that he will have to live up to when his time comes.’’

A third cabinet minister said: ``The trouble with Charles is that he thinks he needs to be interesting and he thinks people are interested in what he thinks. He seems to have misunderstood the role.’’

Prince Charles and Johnson are due to visit Rwanda next week for the Commonwealth heads of government conference. –