Prince bids to end row with Clarke
The Prince of Wales will use a speech today to end a public row that has erupted between himself and Education Secretary Charles Clarke.
He will tell a gathering of bishops in Lambeth Palace that his remarks made in a private memo have been misinterpreted.
The Prince’s comments, which were revealed at a tribunal hearing of a former Clarence House employee, sparked a serious political row when Mr Clarke branded Prince Charles “very old fashioned”, adding that the ideas were “out of time”.
According to the text of the speech, Prince Charles will use the platform to put across what the memo was trying to say and to put an end to the furore.
“I believe passionately that everyone has a particular God-given ability,” Prince Charles will say.
“Not everyone has the same talents or abilities, but everyone, with the right nurturing, can make a real difference to their communities and to the country.”
On Sunday Mr Clarke attempted to end the public spat between the two, telling BBC1’s Breakfast with Frost programme that the Prince’s planned remarks have his full support.
It came after the Prince wrote in a memo: “What is wrong with people now? Why do they all seem to think they are qualified to do things far beyond their technical capabilities?
Mr Clarke responded by saying: “To be quite frank I think he is very old-fashioned and out of time and he doesn’t understand what is going on in the British education system at the moment.”
