Prince Charles wrote to ministers on issues ranging from resources for British troops in Iraq to the fate of the Patagonian Toothfish, according to private letters published on Wednesday against government wishes.
The 27 letters to and from the 66-year-old heir to the throne were released after the government lost a decade-long legal battle to stop their publication on the grounds they might cast doubt over the future king's political neutrality.
Under Britain's unwritten constitution, the royal family is supposed to remain above politics, and Queen Elizabeth has kept her opinions to herself during her 63-year reign.