UK attorney general rules that public cannot see Prince Charles' letters to government

LONDON - No, you cannot read Prince Charles' letters to British government officials.

Attorney General Dominic Grieve on Tuesday overruled a court ruling last month that the public had a right to see what sort of advice the opinionated prince was offering to the government.

Grieve says many of the letters are "particularly frank" and could compromise the public's perception of Charles as a politically neutral figure.

Britain's constitutional monarch has no political power, but meets regularly with prime ministers and other senior politicians to talk about events of the day.

Grieve decided that the prince's letter-writing was part of his decades-long preparation to succeed his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, to the throne.