Prince Charles Does Not Wish To Promote UK Arms In Middle East

Prince Charles does not wish to continue promoting British arms in the Middle East, according to his new biography, 'Charles: Heart of a King', which will be published on Thursday. It was written by Catherine Mayer, an American-born, UK-educated, London-based journalist.

She told BBC that the man behind the Prince is different from what he seems. Her book is trying to show the "peculiarity" of "Planet Windsor," she says. Just before his upcoming tour of the Middle East, the book claims that the Prince is not keen to "being used to market weaponry."

"A source close to the Prince says he doesn't like being used to market weaponry and now sidesteps such activities where possible," Mayer writes, according to rt.com.

Andrew Smith, from Campaign Against Arms Trade, had disclosed that Prince Charles had been using his position "to promote UK arms sales to tyrants and dictators." Still, his actions are just a minor portion of the "taxpayer funded arms export promotion." Even as the British government is discussing promoting democracy, the back-room British business deals tend to lead to serious human rights violations.

"Unfortunately when it comes to business, human rights will often play second fiddle to the short-term profits of the arms companies," he said.

Catherine Meyer wonders why he did not speak up. Insiders gave her some opinions: "One answer - according to insiders, is that he has done so, in - thus far - private communications. If he is uncomfortable with his itineraries, he will say so," she said, according to bbc.com. She continues: "Another answer is that any noisy protests would diminish his usefulness in the Gulf. Some of the objectives of his recent trip to Saudi Arabia relied on that vanishing commodity: secrecy."

Although Prince Charles' reluctance to play a role as a marketing agent for British arms would make him not likely to attend arms fairs in the coming months. Even though he has recently been averse to peddle arms in Middle Eastern states, he has done it.

In 2014, he assumed the role of Britain's "secret weapon" while dealing with Gulf States, especially when he visited Saudi Arabia in 2014, which was followed by a sizeable arms deal. The British aerospace firm, BAE Systems, announced his completion of an agreement to broker Typhoon jets to the Saudi government, just one day after the Prince of Wales left the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

Moreover, the investigative journalist and filmmaker, John Pilger, had earlier referred the Prince of Wales in Dubai as saying: "we're really rather good at making certain kinds of weapons."

In a documentary in 1994, Prince Charles defended his appearance at an arms fair in Dubai, pointing out that at that time he had helped to increase British industrial trade. He had said that the weapons on sale at the fair would be a deterrent. "If the UK doesn't sell them, someone else will," he said.

As he has easy access to senior Arab officials, as compared to ministers and diplomats, Prince Charles is regarded by the Foreign Office as a highly valuable asset. Being a frequent visitor to Arab states, he was quite close to King Abdullah.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office are using him to accelerate Britain's strategic interests. In an upcoming visit to the Middle East, he will visit five states and meet Saudi Arabia's newly appointed King Salman.