Letters between the Prince of Wales and the British government will remain secret after the Attorney General intervened to block a court order mandating their release.

Last month, a panel of judges ruled that seven government departments had to disclose correspondence they had received from Prince Charles. But Section 53 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives ministers a veto over such decisions. In a ten-page document that accompanied his decision , Dominic Grieve MP said that he was taking action to protect the political neutrality of the Crown.

One of the fundamental principles of Britain’s constitutional monarchy is that the sovereign must be politically neutral. By longstanding convention, the Queen only acts on the advice of the government of the day. However, she must be kept informed about the business of government, and she is free to share her views privately with ministers. The need to preserve the Crown’s neutrality is seen as so important that communications between the royal family and the government are treated as strictly confidential, although the Freedom of Information Act 2000 originally allowed certain documents to be disclosed if it was deemed to be in the public interest.

Throughout her sixty-year reign, Queen Elizabeth II has shown herself to be a model of political circumspection. She does not give interviews, and on the few occasions when she does not speak on ministerial advice, her remarks are scrupulously apolitical. There was a brief furor in 1986 when the Sunday Times claimed that some of Margaret Thatcher’s policies were causing the Queen ‘dismay,’ but the assertion was swiftly rubbished by the Palace.

Prince Charles, on the other hand, has gained a reputation for being rather more outspoken than his mother. He has not shied away from public comment on topics such as architecture and organic farming, and he is known to share his views with ministers from time to time. While his critics claim that he is exerting undue influence on the government, his defenders argue that, as the future king, he is entitled to discuss his views with ministers.

The present tussle started back in 2005 when Rob Evans, a journalist from the left-leaning Guardian newspaper, sought to use the Freedom of Information Act to force the disclosure of Prince Charles’ correspondence with several government departments. His request was opposed by the government, and he ended up having to fight it all the way to the Upper Tribunal of the Administrative Appeals Chamber.

Last month, the Tribunal ruled that the disclosure of the documents was in the public interest. In their ruling, the judges sought to draw a distinction between correspondence that allows Prince Charles to prepare himself for kingship and correspondence that advocates certain positions. While the former should remain confidential, the latter could be disclosed to the public.

But the Attorney General disagreed. “In my view, it is of very considerable practical benefit to the Prince of Wales’ preparations for kingship that he should engage in correspondence and engage in dialogue with ministers about matters falling within the business of their departments, because such correspondence will assist him in fulfilling his duties…as king,” Grieve said.

Grieve also pointed out that, although the letters could be “frank,” they did not cross the lines of constitutional propriety. But at the same time, their disclosure could make it harder for people to accept his political neutrality when he becomes king.

“The ability of the monarch to engage with the government of the day, whatever its political colour, and maintain political neutrality is a cornerstone of the UK’s constitutional framework,” Grieve concluded.

Rob Evans, the journalist who originally asked for the letters to be disclosed, condemned the Attorney General’s decision, claiming that “the public has a right to see these letters” in order to gauge Prince Charles’ influence on government policy.

The anti-monarchy group Republic chimed in as well. “The Attorney General’s decision is all about protecting Charles and the Royal family from scrutiny, putting his demands above the rights of the British people,” said Graham Smith, the group’s chief executive.

“Dominic Grieve has made it clear today that no citizen should ever bother trying to find out what the royals are doing behind closed doors: the government will never let the light in.”

In the future, it will be impossible to use the Freedom of Information Act to sneak a peek at royal correspondence. Under changes to the law that took effect last year, the Queen, Prince Charles, and the Duke of Cambridge now enjoy a blanket exemption from the act.

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Over 1,000 boats took to the Thames for a grand pageant to mark the second day of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

An estimated 1.2 million people thronged the banks to get a glimpse of the 86-year-old monarch and her family as they progressed down the river.

The event began when the Queen and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, arrived at Chelsea Pier, where they were met by the Prince of Wales in his capacity as Patron of the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant, along with his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall. After reviewing a Guard of Honor of Chelsea Pensioners, the royal party boarded a tender from HMY Britannia, which took them to the royal barge.

The craft that would carry the royal family was the MV Spirit of Chartwell, a 210-foot hotel barge usually used for luxury cruises along the Thames. The Spirit of Chartwell was heavily modified for the occasion so that she might resemble historic royal barges from the 16th and 17th centuries. The barge’s sides were adorned with red drapes, and the bow was decorated with a crown and the royal cypher. Also on board were extensive horticultural arrangements featuring flowers from the Queen’s gardens. Designed by Rachel de Thame, star of BBC Two’s Gardeners World, they followed a red, gold, and purple color scheme.

The Queen and her husband took in the day’s events from two lavish thrones placed under a canopy on the barge’s top deck. She was accompanied by other senior members of the royal family, including the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince Harry.

Pageant participants were grouped by type, and the groups were separated by ‘herald barges’ carrying bands that played a diverse assortment of music. The bands ranged from the Academy of Ancient Music and the London Philharmonic Orchestra to the Shree Muktajeevan Pipe Band and Dhol Ensemble and Rhythm on the River. Among the pieces played was a new composition based on the original titles of Handel’s “Water Music.”

The boats taking part in the procession were equally diverse, and included rowboats, sailboats, steamboats, as well as an array of historic ships, including Dunkirk little ships and a Maori war canoe. One of the highlights was the Gloriana, an 94-foot vessel built specially for the occasion in the style of 18th century royal barges. Powered by 18 oarsmen, the Gloriana was the brainchild of Lord Sterling, who organized the Queen’s Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2002.

“I became enamoured with the idea of building something timeless and got inspiration from Canaletto’s paintings that showed the great barges of the 18th Century and decided to build one,” he told the BBC.

The Gloriana was financed entirely through donations and will be given to the Queen as a present to mark the occasion.

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Less than a year ago Kate Middleton, known as Catherine to the royal family, became a part of a royal fairy tale when she married her prince charming, heir to the throne of England, Prince William. Prince William and Prince Edward have been extremely protective over Kate as she adapts to life in the public eye. But it’s now apparent that Kate can hold her own, and has proven herself by living up to the royal family’s expectations.

William, who arrived home last week after spending seven weeks in the Falkland Islands serving his duties in the Air Force, was greeted by Kate at the airbase where she welcomed her husband home. It was the longest time the royal couple has been apart since their nuptials on April 29, 2011. With much concern of how Kate would fare on her own, it has been shown that Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, was meant for royalty.

While William was gone, Kate proved herself time and time again that she was born for the role she is playing. She engaged in several royal engagements, as well as charity events. And during those seven weeks, Kate even made her first solo royal speech. With grace and poise she gave a public speech at the opening of the East Anglia Children’s Hospice, located just outside of London. Before giving her speech, Kate was greeted by 600 fans.

Kate, who even wrote the speech herself, admitted she had a “pre-conceived idea as to what to expect,” and by adding that “it was far from being a clinical depressing place for sick children, it was a home. Most importantly, it was a family home, a happy place of stability, support and care. It was a place of fun.”

During her speech Kate also recognized her husband by stating, “I’m only sorry that my husband couldn’t be here today. He would love it here.” And with William gone for almost two months, it gave Kate a chance to get close to the one she is bound to impress the most, the Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth.

The queen has invited Kate to several official public engagements recently, something that she never invited Princess Diana to do in her first year of marriage to Prince Edward. Of the appearances, Kate joined the Queen and Prince Philip as they kicked off the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Tour. Kate has also recently been by the queen’s side for royal appearances in London at both Fortnum and Mason.

Prince Edward gave a statement to the press regarding his high opinion of Kate and her accomplishments. He stated, “Catherine is doing very well. She has taken to royal life like a duck to water. She’s very gracious and the family is very proud of her.”

Currently Kate and William are spending a lot of quality time together catching up and spending time with the newest addition to their family, a four-month-old cocker spaniel named Lupo.

William is only on short leave from duty right now, and he will soon resume his search and rescue duties at the Royal Air Force Valley. Looks like this time around, William will be less worried about Kate, as she gets another opportunity to charm the world with her compassion and care, by showing the public her dreams and plans for the betterment of society, and for the future England.

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Every so often, the British media will run a story about how the government of the day is considering amending the laws governing the succession to the Throne. Nothing is ever done, however, and the story quickly fades from view. But David Cameron may be bucking the trend, for he has finally set in motion the ponderous process of changing the law.

At issue is the fact that the current law is perceived by many as discriminatory. Men take precedence over women. If William and Kate have a daughter, she can only inherit the Throne if her parents never have a son. Such gender discrimination is increasingly hard to justify, and there is widespread support for allowing women to succeed on equal terms.

Cameron also wants to end the prohibition against marrying Roman Catholics. The Act of Succession 1701 states that, if a person who is in the line of succession marries a Roman Catholic, they automatically forfeit their right to the Crown. On the surface, this looks like a straightforward issue of religious discrimination.

Critics have pointed out that the prohibition does not apply to a person who marries a Presbyterian, a Muslim, or even an atheist, and they see it as something of an anomaly that Roman Catholics are singled out in this manner. However, allowing a person who is married to a Roman Catholic to ascend the Throne could have unforeseen consequences because of the Roman Catholic Church’s rules regarding ‘mixed’ marriages.

Typically, if a Roman Catholic marries a non-Roman Catholic, the non-Roman Catholic person must agree to let any children be raised as Roman Catholics. This would be problematic because a Roman Catholic cannot ascend the Throne because of the monarch’s role as Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

Although supporters of succesion-law reform argue that, because the monarch’s role in the Church is mostly ceremonial, there is no problem with a Roman Catholic becoming the titular Supreme Governor of the Church of England. The Church of England continues to oppose such a move. Since there is little political will to disestablish the Church of England, Cameron’s reforms can only go so far.

Because the British monarch is also the monarch of fifteen other countries within the Commonwealth of Nations, any change to the succession law will require the unanimous agreement of those other countries. Cameron has written to the Queen’s other Prime Ministers to obtain their support for the changes, and it is likely the matter will be discussed further at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth later this month.
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The Royal Wedding captured the attention of billions, whether they were esteemed guests flying in or viewers watching from their homes. In an event so grandiose, its environmental impact often goes unnoticed as the attention is drawn toward the lavish fashions and ceremony. Indeed, the magnitude of the wedding’s carbon footprint remained somewhat of an afterthought.

Prince Charles is a known environmentalist, so every measure was taken to ensure a high level of “greenness” at the wedding. All of the flowers were seasonal and grown in the UK. Only local, organic food was served. All documents on were printed on recycled paper. William and Kate even asked that in lieu of gifts their guests make a donation to an environmental nonprofit. However, they still managed to release over 6,700 tons of carbon emissions.

However, one wonders how unavoidable it is to have such a large carbon footprint at a gathering of this size. Their guest list stretched to 1,900 VIPs worldwide, so the fuel from their round trip flights counted for much of the emissions. Add that to the millions of people watching it on television or perhaps listening to it the radio, plus the emissions from present media sources, and that is a hefty amount. Had the royal family not taken those steps to cut down their carbon footprint, it could have been much larger than 6,700 tons. Of course William and Kate could have chosen to have a simple wedding with a limited guest list, but they are royalty and as such their lives are surrounded by pomp and circumstance. And there’s nothing wrong with that, to be sure – but I think that the lesson everyone can learn from this is that the greater the event, the larger the environmental impact.

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