The Prince has stepped up the number of meetings with ministers and civil servants recently, partly in recognition of the Queen's advancing age. The Supreme Court is expected to rule this month on whether his "black spider" letters to ministers should be published. But some observers are concerned he is pushing for a more active role in national life even before he succeeds to the throne. Someone with close links to the Palace said: "It is no accident that he writes all those letters to ministers. He does see himself as a kind of saviour of the nation, someone who can mend the broken country. Some might see that as presumptuously messianic."
Another said: "He tends to dash off his letters without a great deal of consideration. He is far too energetic for his own good."
Constitutional experts are concerned that he could provoke a political crisis, especially if he were to become involved in discussions in a hung Parliament after an election. Civil servants have had discussions about the transition to a new monarch, and are believed to have touched on the sensitive question of what should happen if the Queen's health fails.
The Fixed-Term Parliament Act has removed virtually all the remaining elements of royal prerogative in the event of a hung Parliament but there is some anxiety that the Prince is less likely than his mother to be a largely passive onlooker.
A senior official said: "He does seem more difficult to deal with the older he gets. The age of smooth relations between the Palace and politicians, when they were all of roughly the same milieu, is not as it was."
The Prince has let it be known that he hopes other religions will be included when he accedes the throne, and over the weekend stories have emerged suggesting he wants to modernise the honours system. Jonathan Dimbleby, the Prince's biographer, commented a year ago: "A quiet constitutional revolution is afoot ... I predict he will go well beyond what any previous constitutional monarch has ever essayed."
He is also understood to support the case for proportional representation in Westminster elections and he opposes the Human Rights Act. Whether he would keep his counsel on such issues is debatable at best.
Mayer - who spent six months talking to the Prince and more than 50 friends, confidantes and staff - describes someone who is determined he will "never be remote and silent like his mother" and who is driven to make life better for people. She quotes him as saying: "I want to raise aspirations and recreate hope from hopelessness and health from deprivation."
Joe Little, the managing editor of Majesty magazine, said: "The divisions within Clarence House have been common knowledge for several years. His temper tantrums have been well documented. The reign of King Charles III will be very different to that of his mother. The Queen has very much followed in her father's footsteps and steered clear of controversy. [Charles] has a different agenda and will not be the 'silent' monarch that some Establishment figures think he should be. People can be in no doubt that the Prince of Wales cares about the Commonwealth, the environment and many other components of 21st century life, so any 'meddling' that he might do is done for the best possible reasons."
Penny Junor, the royal biographer, said: "I wouldn't say he feels guilty about his upbringing or privilege, but he is very big-hearted and has a clear idea of what he feels he can do ... If he has got good people round him - and I think he does - he could achieve great things."
- Independent, Telegraph Group Ltd
