Prince Charles' spokesman defended Tuesday his intervention in a high-profile London building project which caused the deal to collapse, saying the royal had only voiced local residents' concerns.
A judge last week described the heir-to-the-throne's overtures to the Qatari developers of the Chelsea Barracks, which caused them to abandon the three billion pound project, as "unwelcome".
Speaking for the first time since the judge's ruling Friday, which found that developers Qatari Diar had breached their contract by pulling out, Charles' spokesman said he was only repeating the objections of local people.
"It is part of the Prince of Wales's official duties to encourage and advise and warn and to make sure the views of ordinary people that might not otherwise be heard receive some exposure," said royal aide Michael Peat.
"The Prince of Wales was contacted by local residents who were concerned about the proposed development on the Chelsea Barracks site.
"They asked him to do what he could to ensure that their views received exposure. Their views did represent the views of the majority."
When the prince wrote to the Emir of Qatar's family criticising the plans by leading architect Richard Rogers, he was "repeating exactly what the local residents were saying all along," Peat said.
Rogers, best known for the iconic Pompidou Centre in Paris, had drawn up a glass and steel design for the former barracks but the plans were strongly criticised by the prince, an outspoken opponent of modern architecture.
Peat added that when the judge had described the prince's intervention as unwelcome it was not his own view.
"He said that Qatari Diar and the Candy brothers (the co-developers who brought the case against the Qataris) must have found the letter unexpected and unwelcome," he said.
The royal aide was speaking at the publication of Charles' annual accounts, which showed his funding from the taxpayer fell by almost half from more than three million pounds to 1.66 million pounds between 2009 and 2010.
This was caused by lower spending on overseas travel, Peat said. By contrast, the prince's private income from his Duchy of Cornwall estate rose from 16.46 million pounds in 2009 to 17.16 million this year.
Copyright 2010 AFP European Edition
