We know that Prince Charles has a history of putting his foot in his mouth. Not quite as bad as his father Prince Philip, mind you, but as the series of letters dubbed ‘the black spider memos’ have come to light, we are seeing another side of the DSTV dish-eared royal.

The British monarchy are often mocked for being nothing more than figureheads, and truth be told with a (semi) functioning political system in place, there is little more for them to do than churn out children and gobble up taxpayers’ money. I do enjoy seeing Harry on one of his Vegas benders, but it isn’t my pockets he is emptying.

The series of letters, finally released to the public after a protracted legal battle, contain 10 letters written by Prince Charles. Here is some of the more salacious content, reported on BusinessInsider:

The Prince was lobbying the prime minister to increase the country’s defence budget.

Prince Charles wanted to change the way history and English are taught in UK schools, but feared his ideas were too “old fashioned” and too “dangerous.”

He also voiced his disdain for people who want to protect badgers:

Now there’s nothing wrong with having an opinion, but the monarchy is supposed to remain politically neutral. Meddling is problematic, especially when coming from the man who may one day become the king. Sure he may hand over the reigns to young Willy, but as it stands he is still first in line to rule the roost.

For what it’s worth, the monarchy published a statement in response to the letters going public, which can be read in full HERE. An excerpt below:

The Prince of Wales believes, as have successive Governments, that he should have a right to communicate privately.  The publication of private letters can only inhibit his ability to express the concerns and suggestions which have been put to him in the course of his travels and meetings.  This view has been given effect by Parliament, which passed legislation in 2010 to ensure that the communications of The Prince of Wales, and that of The Queen, should be exempt from publication under the Freedom of Information Act.

Which, when considered in context with Britain’s fondness of writing letters and dislike for confrontation, is about as stinging a rebuke as you are likely to see.

[sources:pow&businessinsider]