THE Prince of Wales is abusing his power by championing alternative health therapies and diverting funds away from science-based medical research, according to one of Britain’s leading doctors.

In an open letter to the Prince, Professor Michael Baum accuses him of “overstepping the mark” in his support of herbal remedies. The Prince has called for complementary therapies to be used alongside conventional ones.

Professor Baum, a breast cancer specialist working in Sydney, told The Times yesterday that he was begging the Prince to exercise extreme caution when promoting “unproven therapies”. He said that the medical establishment was exasperated by his calls for funding of a field that was his “personal prejudice”.

Referring to the Prince’s support for alternative cancer therapies, Professor Baum said: “It is quite inappropriate for the Prince to use his influence to try and persuade cancer patients to adopt remedies without scientific proof.”

In his letter, published today in the British Medical Journal, he says: “Over the past 20 years I have treated thousands of patients with cancer . . . My authority comes with a knowledge built on 40 years of study. Your authority rests on an accident of birth .”

The Prince first publicly backed complementary medicine in a speech to the British Medical Association more than 20 years ago and recently established the Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health.

Last month, he told health professionals that many cancer patients had found complementary treatments “extremely therapeutic”.

Professor Baum said that as there was no equivalent of the General Medical Council for the monarchy, it was left to “loyal subjects” to warn the that Prince he may have overstepped the mark.

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