LONDON -- Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, has recently claimed that his copyright was infringed by a popular newspaper that printed extracts from his diary about the handover of power in Hong Kong in 1998. The diary revealed the prince' distaste for the Chinese leaders whom he described as "appalling old waxworks," not exactly a complementary phrase but not necessarily inappropriate. The prince has been rightly critical of Chinese oppression in Tibet.
The queen has been scrupulous in keeping out of controversy and above politics in her role as a constitutional monarch and many believe that Charles as the heir apparent should be equally scrupulous. But others ask if it is reasonable to expect someone who holds strong views on such subjects as organic farming, genetically modified crops and climate change to refrain from expressing his views to ministers and in public.
The prince claimed that the journal was never intended for the eyes of more than a few close friends and that he was entitled to the same privacy as a private citizen.