Charles to meet SNP leader

AN UNPRECEDENTED private meeting between the Prince of Wales and the Scottish National Party leader, Alex Salmond, is expected to take place this week.

The nationalist leader is expected to raise his party's attitude to the monarchy and to land reform in Scotland at what will be the first private face-to-face meeting between the Prince and an SNP leader.

The Palace played down any suggestion that the meeting, at a time when there is strong support for the nationalists, implied any assessment by the Royal Family that the SNP may be getting closer to achieving its goal of full independence for Scotland.

The meeting is more likely to reflect the reality that, with Scottish devolution looming, communication with politicians needs to be updated.

A spokeswoman said: "The Prince, like other senior members of the Royal Family, meets a wide variety of people from across the political spectrum to ensure that the Royal Family is in touch with developments in public opinion."

The SNP supports keeping the monarchy but in slimmed-down form, subject to public opinion expressed through a referendum which it would hold in its first term if it won power in an independent Scotland.

The SNP leader is also likely to raise the question of land reform with the Prince.

The party has in the past called for the creation of locally-elected bodies who would act like planning authorities in a bid to cut down on what were seen as abuses by absentee landlords.