`Charles doesn’t command the same respect as the Queen’

LONDON - Prince Charles “does not ‘command the same respect’ as the Queen”, said a cable from a US embassy official whistleblowing website WikiLeaks has revealed.

The Guardian reported Tuesday that Amitav Banerji, Commonwealth secretariat director of political affairs, told a US embassy political officer that “heir-apparent to the British crown, Prince Charles, does not ‘command the same respect’ as the Queen”.

Banerji said the Commonwealth “was trying quietly to get him more involved in Commonwealth affairs”, said the cable sent to Washington in June 2009.

The cable added: “Banerji acknowledged that succession of the head of the Commonwealth would have to be dealt with when Queen Elizabeth passes, as there is no rule stipulating that the British monarch is the head and no procedure for selecting a new head.”

The cables also show that Charles and his wife Camilla Parker Bowles, the Duchess of Cornwall, are considered key players in diplomatic ties between Britain and Saudi Arabia.

Another cable reveals how a western businessman in Saudi Arabia had to refurbish a crumbling royal palace at his own expense so a Saudi prince, who was “known for being extremely cheap”, could throw a lavish party for Charles.

The businessman told the American consul general in Jeddah, Tatiana Gfoeller, how the prince gave him three weeks to transform part of the late king’s crumbling home.

“According to the businessman, the first thing that he did was cut off all electricity so that no one would be able to turn on the lights and see what was taking place.”

“Secondly he inserted Styrofoam into the holes in the walls. Thirdly he set up projectors to project colours and designs on to the walls. On the evening of the party candles were the only source of lighting throughout the house. The plan was successful as the Prince of Wales commented on how luxurious and beautiful the palace was, despite the fact that it was not,” the media report said.