The Prince of Wales’s household is "hierarchical and elitist", a former employee told an industrial tribunal today.

The claim was made by a former personal assistant at Clarence House who was described by the prince in a memo as "so PC it frightens me rigid".

In the memo, the prince also blames the education system for making people "think they can all be pop stars".

The memo was read at an employment tribunal where Elaine Day is claiming sex discrimination and unfair dismissal against the prince’s household.

Ms Day, of Belvedere, Kent, worked as a personal assistant for five years at Clarence House before she left earlier this year.

Clarence House has said it will "vigorously" contest the case, which is being heard in Croydon, south London, and is expected to last three days.

The memo was written by the prince in response to a suggestion by Ms Day that personal assistants with university degrees should be given the opportunity to train to become private secretaries, the hearing was told.

In the memo, the prince wrote: "What is wrong with everyone nowadays? Why do they all seem to think they are qualified to do things far beyond their technical capabilities?

"This is to do with the learning culture in schools as a consequence of a child-centred system which admits no failure.

"People think they can all be pop stars, high court judges, brilliant TV personalities or infinitely more competent heads of state without ever putting in the necessary work or having natural ability.

"This is the result of social utopianism which believes humanity can be genetically and socially engineered to contradict the lessons of history."

The memo concludes: "What on earth am I to tell Elaine? She is so PC it frightens me rigid."

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