His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales

Baroness Smith of Basildon Excerpts

Wednesday 14th November 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Basildon (Lab)]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the Deputy Leader of the House, and we join in wishing the Prince of Wales a very happy 70th birthday. There is no job description for the role of heir to the Throne. As the longest serving heir during a time of significant social change, it has been an opportunity and no doubt at times a challenge to fulfil the role in the meaningful way that the Prince has undertaken. It is significant that the Prince is the first heir to the Throne to go to school rather than be educated by a personal tutor in a royal palace. He was the first to gain a university degree and the first have a cameo role in “Coronation Street”. He was also the first to be on Twitter, and the first to have his own birthday hashtag, #Charlesat70. He was also most definitely the first to run his classic Aston Martin car on fuel from the by-products of wine and cheese. I do not think that trying to get the Royal Train running on environmentally friendly used cooking oil has been quite so successful.

As we have heard from the noble Earl, the speech of His Royal Highness in the House of Lords followed in the footsteps of his great-great-grandfather, Prince Edward, later Edward VII, who had made such a speech 90 years before. Both speeches focused on social issues. In a thoughtful contribution on a Lords Select Committee report on sports and leisure, which was developed in a later speech made to your Lordships on volunteering, His Royal Highness gave a glimpse of some of the issues that he would make it his life’s work to champion. In both speeches he reflected on how society could best support young people, the environment and our environmental heritage.

But these were not woolly, do-gooder speeches; they had an edge to them and posed a challenge. The Prince recognised the role of the citizen and the state working together and the importance of support for life outside work to enhance physical and mental well-being. He advocated alternative activities and provision to challenge crime and anti-social behaviour. That personal interest led directly to the establishment in 1976 of the Prince’s Trust—but who knew that it was set up with his £7,000 Royal Navy severance pay? I know that the noble Lord, Lord Newby, will say more about the Prince’s Trust, but the vision that Prince Charles set out in the 1970s—that all young people, particularly those who have not had a good start in life, should have the opportunity to succeed—remains true today. He continues to be genuinely interested in the lives and life stories of young people, engaging directly with them. His vision and commitment have ensured that thousands of disadvantaged young people have been provided with the opportunity to transform their lives, helping nearly a million individuals into employment or business.

However, it is on environmental matters that Prince Charles has at times ruffled a few feathers. Who could have failed to see the amusement in his face when it was put to him by John Bridcut in the BBC programme last week that he had been accused of meddling? He replied with a smile, “Really—you don’t say?” There is no doubt, however, that what in the 1970s were regarded as somewhat eccentric issues are today’s problems that we are all trying to grapple with, having failed to heed past warnings. That 1970 speech in which he warned of the approaching waste crisis arising from using non-returnable plastic bottles and indestructible plastic stands out, as does his long-term concern about climate change. Perhaps we should re-examine a few more of those so-called “eccentric” issues.

The Prince’s Foundation is one of the many charities he has established and focuses on the built environment, heritage and community education projects. It aims to create a modern, viable and productive use for historic buildings. It proves that it is possible to bring together the past and the future in sustainable communities. The Prince has always been passionate about the nations’ built heritage, as I found out personally during my time as Environment Minister in Northern Ireland. As other Ministers will endorse, the usual response after a visit is a short note of thanks. Following one such visit to Northern Ireland, Prince Charles’ first letter to me ran to three long pages, with well-informed observations, thoughts and suggestions for future collaboration and support on heritage issues. It was what we would nowadays call “a nudge”. In the correspondence that followed, the Prince offered to arrange visits to newly developed sites and meetings with key advisers, all of which turned out to be both fascinating and useful.

Around that time in 2003, my much-loved grandmother died. As her funeral was during his visit, which was over several days, there were a number of engagements that I was due to host or attend that I was unable to make. When I returned to Northern Ireland, I was surprised to receive many lovely messages of condolence from people whom I only slightly knew and I did not really understand why. I later found out that, at all the events I had missed, Prince Charles had explained to everybody why I was unable to be there and that I was with my family. It was very thoughtful and greatly appreciated.

My favourite story of kindness is about the new young assistant private secretary accompanying his Minister to a meeting with His Royal Highness. Nervous and inexperienced, he read every book and took as much advice as possible on protocol and etiquette—he was not going to make a mistake. However, he became steadily more anxious as the day drew near. That his female Minister strode up to Prince Charles, arm outstretched to shake hands, did nothing to quell his nerves. As the Prince and the Minister sat talking over tea, the poor, now terrified, private secretary was unable to stop his hands shaking to such an extent that the sound of a cup clattering against saucer was in danger of drowning out the conversation. Ignoring it just made it worse. At which point, the Prince, sensing his acute discomfort, reached out and said, “May I take that from you?”—much to the relief of all.

No comments would be complete without an acknowledgement of His Royal Highness’s deep commitment to the Commonwealth, especially now it is confirmed that he will be its next Head. His recent visit to west Africa demonstrates that this is more than a formal duty but a responsibility that he clearly respects and enjoys.

None of us can choose the life that we are born into, but, especially from a position of privilege, we have a choice of how to live it and how to contribute. When His Royal Highness spoke in your Lordships’ House more than four decades ago, the then Leader of the House and previous Labour Leader, Malcolm Shepherd, reflected:

“The noble Prince was born to great privilege and great opportunity, and also to a position of influence. Equally, such a position, by its very nature, is open to temptation. It would be easy to find the easy way out and to seek narrow, selfish interests, for we are all human … But the noble Prince … has chosen the hard road of duty and service”.—[Official Report, 13/6/74; col. 632.]


While we hope that, on his birthday, he will be allowed to succumb to some temptation, on this side of the House we wish the Prince of Wales a very happy birthday.