Britain’s Prince William receives confidential Cabinet documents.
A row erupted earlier this week – following a Freedom of Information Act request made by the campaign group Republic – after it emerged Prince Charles has had access to top-secret government documents for the last 20 years.
And it’s now been confirmed that his eldest son, Prince William, also has access to the documents.
A Cabinet Office spokesman defended the situation, saying that, as a future heir to the throne, it was "appropriate that he is regularly briefed on government business".
By contrast, Republic said there was "no good reason" why Prince William also received the Cabinet papers.
This comes shortly after Republic’s chief executive Graham Smith said Prince Charles had "no legitimate need" to see the documents.
He explained: "The disclosure of Cabinet papers to Prince Charles is quite extraordinary and completely unacceptable, not only because they would contain highly classified information but because it gives him considerable advantage in pressing his own agenda when lobbying ministers."
Smith added: "Charles is essentially a minister not attending cabinet."
Meanwhile, Labour MP Paul Flynn said the decision to allow Charles access to the Cabinet papers made him the country’s "best-informed lobbyist".
Prince William receives confidential Cabinet papers
