Prince Charles

Charles, Prince of Wales is the son of Queen Elizabeth II and heir apparent to the throne of the United Kingdom, unless his mom outlives him. And that should worry you.

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Family

He was married to the late Princess Diana from 1981 until 1996, and married Camilla Parker Bowles in 2005; he has two sons, Prince William the Duke of Ambridge Cambridge, and Prince Harry the Duke of Suffix.

Career in snake oil sales

He supports and sells complementary medicines. Professor Edzard Ernst, Britain's first professor of complementary medicine, who spent eighteen years at Exeter University leading a unit that subjects alternative medicines to thorough scientific scrutiny, called Charles a "snake oil salesman"[1] for endorsing the "Duchy Herbals" detox tincture. He also "treats" his farm animals with homeopathy.[2]

He also talks to plants. Really.[3] Though to be fair, those ears could be capable of hearing things most others are not. That or the bit between the ears.

He has promoted coffee enemas,[4] which have no known medical benefit but have numerous risks (burning, rectal perforation, infection and electrolyte imbalance).

State interference
“”Me, meddle as a king? I'm not that stupid.
—Charles[5]

Charles often writes to government ministers about matters that interest him. This would not normally be an issue, but he has been known to try to interfere in government policy.[6] The Information Tribunal ruled that the Government should release copies of his controversial "black spider" letters to Ministers in 2012, but the Attorney General vetoed the release, claiming that letting normal people read his views might damage his "ability to perform as King".[7] The ministerial veto enables ministers to ignore Tribunal rulings if they find them to be embarrassing contrary to the national interest. A later ruling by the UK Supreme Court in 2015 required the publication of the letters.[8]

In fact, he even has the right to prevent a bills being presented to parliament if they conflict with his business interests.[9] The Government is trying to cover this up,[10] too, as it touches on a wide variety of policy areas that Queen's Consent doesn't.[11]

Other stuff

Charles is famous for complaining about fugly architecture, stopping a few more monstrosities from dotting the British landscape (or at least, monstrosities he doesn't himself own[12]). His ears are often caricatured, even by his sympathisers.[13]

gollark: wha??
gollark: How goes it?
gollark: Hmm, Switchcraft is busier than [REDACTED] then.
gollark: CBOR would probably work. They should have used CBOR. I am going to say this horribly late so nobody has any idea what I'm referring to.
gollark: It is buggy and closed-source.

See also

References
  1. Professor calls Prince Charles, others "snake-oil salesmen", Reuters
  2. Prince Charles: I use homeopathy in animals to cut antibiotic use
  3. Prince Charles Eavesdrops on Tourists, Speaks to Plants, ABC News
  4. [https://www.theguardian.com/society/2004/jun/27/themonarchy.medicineandhealth Now Charles backs coffee cure for cancer Angry doctors warn of dangers as Prince of Wales lends support to controversial alternative treatment] by Jo Revill (26 June 2004 20.07 EDT) The Guardian.
  5. Prince Charles: 'Me, meddle as a king? I'm not that stupid'. Heir to throne tells BBC 70th birthday interview he will desist from his hobbyhorses if sovereign by Caroline Davies (7 Nov 2018 19.01 EST) The Guardican.
  6. Prince Charles's letters to ministers should be disclosed, judges rule, The Guardian
  7. Attorney general blocks disclosure of Prince Charles letters to ministers, The Guardian
  8. https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/UK_Supreme_Court_require_government_to_release_Prince_Charles_%27black_spider%27_letters
  9. Prince Charles has been offered a veto over 12 government bills since 2005, The Guardian
  10. https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/jan/14/secret-papers-royals-veto-bills
  11. See the Wikipedia article on Queen's Consent.
  12. Local History: Poundbury, BBC
  13. The many faces of Prince Charles
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