After years of legal wrangling, a cache of secret letters between Prince Charles and the British government are now online.
The so-called “black spider memos” were published Wednesday after 10 years of legal wrangling.
In April 2005, Guardian newspaper reporter Rob Evan filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the letters — written to various departments, under the government of former Prime Minister Tony Blair, in 2004 and 2005.
Despite the government’s attempts to prevent the release of the 27 memos, Britain’s Supreme Court stood by a lower court decision to make the correspondence public.
The departments and ministers Charles wrote to included Blair, then Minister of Environment Elliot Morley, Secretary of State for Education Charles Clarke, Secretary of Health John Reid, the offices of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.
Clarence House issued a statement on Wednesday defending the prince’s letters to government, saying the correspondence “shows the range of the Prince of Wales’ concerns and interests for his country and the wider world.”
“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,” the statement read.
It added the heir to the throne believes “that he should have the right to communicate privately.”
But as the king-in-waiting, Charles is expected to remain neutral when it comes to government affairs and not get involved in government affairs.
Last year, the Prince of Wales also faced criticism and accusations of political meddling after it was revealed he had 36 private meetings with cabinet ministers over a three-year span — including seven meetings with Prime Minster David Cameron.
According to the Guardian, the letters became known as the “black spider memos” because of the prince’s poor penmanship.
With files from The Associate Press
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