Charles accused of ‘over-reaching’ in Rwanda row
CHARLES ATTACKS ‘APPALLING’ RWANDA SCHEME
Saturday’s Daily Mail
MINISTERS accused Prince Charles of ‘overreaching’ last night after he condemned the Government’s Rwanda migrant policy as ‘appalling’.
The heir to the throne faced a backlash after the Daily Mail revealed he had sharply criticised the Government’s flagship policy in private.
Downing Street and the Home Office declined to comment on his views. But one Cabinet minister told the Daily Mail: ‘He is in danger of over-reaching himself. He cannot make pronouncements on Government policy when he is king.
‘ Even in private there is always a chance those remarks will get out and put him in a difficult position.’
The Sunday Times reported that four Cabinet ministers had raised concerns about the intervention by Prince Charles over the weekend.
One told the newspaper: ‘ 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.
‘The Queen’s genius is that most of us have no idea what she thinks.’
Another said: ‘His mother has set the gold standard and that’s the standard he will have to live up to when the time comes.
‘While this kind of intervention will be tolerated while he’s Prince of
Wales, the same will not be true when he becomes king.’
Constitutional expert Vernon Bogdanor dismissed the row as a ‘storm in a teacup’ and said the Prince of Wales was entitled to express views in private.
He said that while the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby had warned publicly that the Rwanda policy does ‘ not stand God’s judgment’, Prince Charles had never intended his views to become public.
Professor Bogdanor, of King’s College London, said: ‘He is perfectly entitled privately to say he does or doesn’t agree with a government policy, although of course he should be discreet in who he talks to.’
The historian added: ‘He is not entitled to say it in public.’ Professor Bogdanor, who has written widely on government and politics and advised officials on many occasions, accused those who leaked the comments of a ‘disservice to the monarchy’.
But he said the Rwanda policy could create ‘ tension’ for the Prince of Wales if it becomes controversial with other Commonwealth countries.
Prince Charles will represent the Queen at a Commonwealth Heads of Government summit in the Rwandan capital Kigali later this month.
Professor Bogdanor told Times Radio: ‘There may be a tension between the role of the Queen, and eventually the Prince of Wales, as head of state and their role as head of the Commonwealth.’
The prince will be visiting Kigali with Boris Johnson.
Clarence House has not denied that Prince Charles criticised the Rwanda policy but insisted that he had not tried to influence the Government.
In a statement on Friday night, it said: ‘We would not comment on supposed anonymous private conversations with the Prince of Wales, except to restate that he remains politically neutral. Matters of policy are decisions for government.’
Clarence House declined to comment further last night.