Ministers tell Prince Charles: you should get out more

Ministers want the Prince of Wales to recruit a much wider circle of advisers to ensure that he gets a broader picture of the state of Britain today.

Ministers believe the controversy over the Prince's leaked letters to the Government stems from his dependence on a small circle of advisers and friends who, they believe, do not reflect society as a whole. Some point to the Prince's friendship with the former chief inspector of schools Chris Woodhead and the newspaper columnist Melanie Phillips, who both have strong traditionalist views. They are also worried that Elizabeth Buchanan, the assistant private secretary at St James's Palace with responsibility for rural affairs, and a former aide to Margaret Thatcher, may have persuaded him that the Blair Government cares little about the countryside.

The most explosive leak was Prince Charles's apparent endorsement of a farmer's view that farmers were treated worse than black people or gays. Then it was revealed that the Prince had fired off letters to the Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine of Lairg, expressing concern about Britain's "compensation culture" and "politically correct interference".

Although ministers have not criticised the Prince in public, some believe the affair has damaged him. One minister said yesterday: "The Prince has taken a wrong turn. He has succumbed to a partisan and self-interested group of advisers. They are egging him on and whipping him up." Another minister added: "Prince Charles should open himself to advice from a broader and more diverse range of public and political opinion."