Another batch of Prince Charles' private letters have been released

New letters written by Prince Charles to a number of government bodies have been published online following last month's release of the "black spider" documents.

The letters, published between 2007 and June 2009, detail communications between Charles and several government officials, including Labour politician and then Secretary of State Douglas Alexander.

Letters were also written to Planning Minister Yvette Cooper, Housing Minister Caroline Flint, then Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw and Alan and Andy Burnham, who were both health secretaries at the time.

Topics covered in the memos include:

• DCLG (Department of Communities and Local Government) affordable housing and regeneration projects.
• Hospital food and complementary medicine.
• Smithfield Market, historic sites and Shackleton and Scott's huts.
• Meetings with charities and the Millennium Development Goals, discussed with Douglas Alexander.

In total, 17 new documents were released - 6 of which were written by Charles. This was following debates over whether they should be made public over worries the publication could bring the political neutrality of the future king into question.

The previous batch of letters released showed the Prince tackling ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair over army resources in Iraq and that he may have helped New Zealand's government get £250,000 to preserve Antarctic huts.

Here's a link to the newly released letters »