The true feelings of the Prince of Wales about the countries that he is sent to visit will remain secret after a judge said a newspaper should return seven of his travel journals.

The only royal travelogue to be published disclosed that Prince Charles regarded the Communist leaders of China as “appalling old waxworks”.

Now the Prince is to seek damages from Associated Newspapers, publishers of The Mail on Sunday, for revealing what he said about foreign VIPs behind their backs.

A court order prevents the press from disclosing even the names of countries mentioned in the journals, which were leaked by a former employee.

Mr Justice Blackburne, who has read the journals, told the High Court that they contained “private impressions and private views”.

The Prince’s observations about his travels featured in a journal that he called “The Handover of Hong Kong or the Great Chinese Takeaway”. They were leaked by Sarah Goodall, a former secretary in the Prince’s office, in breach of the duty of confidentiality that was written into her contract.

After the Hong Kong diary was published, the Prince sued The Mail on Sunday for breach of copyright and confidentiality. Three senior Court of Appeal judges upheld his human right to keep his written observations private.

Mr Justice Blackburne yesterday granted an injunction banning the publication of the remaining seven handwritten journals. He said that The Mail on Sunday had not advanced “any valid arguments on freedom of expression” which outweighed the Prince’s right to confidence and privacy.

Lawyers for the newspaper told the court that it did not oppose injunctions that banned publication of the journals and that required “delivery up” of all the documents. The newspaper was granted a stay pending a decision next month on whether it should have permission to appeal to the Lords against earlier rulings.

The Prince’s legal team argued that the newspaper had no excuse for continuing to hold on to the journals. The court had rejected the newspaper’s claim that the Prince’s rights were overridden by freedom of expression and the public interest in publication.

“As everyone knows, what is interesting to the public is not necessarily in the public interest,” Hugh Tomlinson, QC, for the Prince, said.

The Prince intended to seek damages against the newspaper for its “unlawful acts”.

The judge said that the claim for breach of confidence and privacy in the remaining seven journals was “fully established”.

Royal musings already revealed

Club Class “It took me some time to realise that this was not first class (!) although it puzzled me why the seat seemed so uncomfortable”

Tony Blair “He gives the impression of listening to what one says, which I find astonishing”

Politicians “They take decisions based on market research and focus groups, on the papers produced by advisers and civil servants none of whom will have ever experienced what it is they are taking decisions about”

Hong Kong handover “At the end of this awful Soviet-style display we had to watch Chinese soldiers goose-step on to the stage and haul down the Union Jack”

Source: The Handover Of Hong Kong

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