Russia Brands Prince's Hitler Slur 'Outrageous'

When Is A Royal Conversation 'Private'?

Updated: 1:35pm UK, Thursday 22 May 2014

By Paul Harrison, Royal Correspondent

So when is a conversation deemed to be private and when is it considered public?

Clarence House has declined to talk specifically about what the Prince of Wales said about President Putin, insisting his comments were made during a "private conversation".

The problem is that the Prince was attending a "public" engagement at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at which he knew full well that once he departed, those with whom he spoke would, in turn, likely talk to the press.

So, in this case he will have expected that his comments. made to Marianne Ferguson comparing Mr Putin to Adolf Hitler, had a realistic chance of being made public in some form or another.

There is nothing to say the Prince of Wales can't have opinions.

We are well versed on the Prince's stance on the environment, conservation, architecture and education. But will people be able to stomach Prince Charles getting involved in international affairs?

Go to discussions on social networking sites, and there is general support for Charles.

Many even congratulate him for not sitting on the fence like many politicians do.

In addition, many feel his comments aren't too dissimilar from those made by former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who in March said: "The claims by President Putin that they had to go into Crimea and maybe further into Eastern Ukraine because they had to protect Russian minorities is reminiscent of claims made back in the 1930s when Germany under the Nazis kept talking about how they had to protect German minorities in Poland, Czechoslovakia and elsewhere in Europe."

So while Charles' opinions may have been expressed in a slightly more "off-the-cuff" way than Clinton's carefully worded comments, they aren't entirely ill-considered.

But is it, perhaps, the spontaneous nature of the heir's analogy that has upset some?

Diplomats will have been up early this morning working hard to limit any potential damage.

They have to clear up the mess, if any, left behind while Prince Charles moves on to his next walkabout and his next series of chats.

Will they, in turn, be considered private? In the eyes of Clarence House, yes. Until someone tells the press, that is.

Perhaps the only way of ensuring conversations are kept entirely private is to hold them behind closed doors and don't invite the press to public engagements. What would critics say then?

Does the Kremlin care, given Prince Charles and President Putin are both scheduled to attend the same key D-Day anniversary events in June?

Putin's spokesman hadn't even heard about Charles' comments, deemed private.

Anyway, Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov added: "I can't really trust The Daily Mail as a source."

Diplomatic spat averted then.

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