Prince Charles insists he will not ‘meddle’ in politics when he becomes king

'I'm not that stupid. I do realise that it is a separate exercise being sovereign,' says heir to throne in 70th birthday interview

Prince Charles has suggested he will not “meddle” in issues once he becomes king as he recognises the differences between being heir to the throne and head of state.

The Prince of Wales has been criticised in the past for airing his views on topics such as the environment and architecture.

His outspoken opinions on such subjects has raised questions over whether he would be able to uphold the strict policy of political neutrality expected of British monarchs.

But, interviewed for a BBC documentary about his 70th birthday, the prince acknowledged he would not be “able to do the same things I've done as heir”.

Speaking in detail about his future role as head of state, Charles said: “You know, I've tried to make sure whatever I've done has been non-party political, and I think it's vital to remember there's only room for one sovereign at a time, not two.

“So, you can't be the same as the sovereign if you're the Prince of Wales or the heir.

“But the idea somehow that I'm going to go on in exactly the same way, if I have to succeed, is complete nonsense because the two - the two situations - are completely different.“

Asked whether his public campaigning will go on, he added: “No, it won't. I'm not that stupid. I do realise that it is a separate exercise being sovereign. So of course I understand entirely how that should operate.”

When questioned about what some have termed his “meddling”, Charles defended his actions, which include establishing the Prince's Trust in 1976 to help disadvantaged young people.

“But I always wonder what meddling is,” he said. “I mean I always thought it was motivating but I've always been intrigued, if it's meddling to worry about the inner cities as I did 40 years ago and what was happening or not happening there.

“The conditions in which people were living. If that's meddling I'm very proud of it.”

The documentary captures the future king in private and public, from feeding vegetable scraps to his chickens and collecting their eggs at his Highgrove home in Gloucestershire, to visiting Australia's Great Barrier Reef to highlight climate change.

In the film, Prince, Son and Heir: Charles at 70, due to air on BBC One on Thursday evening, the royal says of his role as Prince of Wales that: ”You have to make of it what you feel is right.

“So, there's nothing laid down, that's what makes it so interesting, challenging and of course complicated,” he added.

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His wife, the Duchess of Cornwall described in the documentary how Charles was driven by the need to help others, saying: “He feels everything inside, that's why he gets things done.

“He's pretty impatient, he wants things done by yesterday as I think everybody who works for him will tell you.

“But that's how he gets things done, he's driven by this, this passion inside him to really help. He would like to save the world.”

Additional reporting by PA