ONE of the Prince of Wales’s most trusted former advisers is to testify against him in a potentially explosive court case that threatens to reveal his views on sensitive matters of state.
The Prince of Wales is taking legal action against The Mail on Sunday after it published extracts from his private journal containing his acerbic views on the handover of Hong Kong to the Chinese and his deep dislike for the Beijing regime.
The Times has learnt that Mark Bolland, for seven years the Prince’s deputy private secretary, will give evidence for the defence. Mr Bolland, 39, who stage-managed the entrance of Camilla Parker Bowles into royal public life, has written a statement about the Prince’s view of the Chinese Government that will be a key feature of next month’s court case.
Mr Bolland’s intervention will alarm the Prince and his advisers. He was one of only two officials entrusted by the Prince to accompany him to Paris to bring back the body of Diana, Princess of Wales.
It was Mr Bolland who advised against the disastrous prosecution of Paul Burrell, the former royal butler. He then proposed an independent inquiry into the collapse of the trial but was overruled.
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In 1999 Mr Bolland orchestrated the first public photograph of the Prince and Mrs Parker Bowles together. When Prince Harry was revealed to have been smoking cannabis Mr Bolland transformed a public relations disaster into a triumph. It emerged that the Prince of Wales had told his son to visit a drugs clinic to see the pitfalls of addiction.
Mr Bolland, a chemistry graduate educated at a Middlesbrough comprehensive, set about briefing journalists at fashionable restaurants in the name of converting Mrs Parker Bowles from a marriage-wrecking outsider to the life-partner of the heir to the throne. In 2001 he was named PR Professional of the Year.
Lawyers for The Mail on Sunday are also applying to the High Court for an order compelling Clarence House to release extensive private journals detailing the Prince’s thoughts on social and political topics. The material is so extensive that the Prince once discussed with Mr Bolland selling it to raise money for his charities.
The Prince, who is suing the newspaper for breach of copyright and confidentiality, routinely copied the diary material to between 30 and 50 friends.
The article that triggered the action was based on extracts from the Prince’s journal in which he described Chinese diplomats as “appalling old waxworks”. He represented the Queen at the Hong Kong handover.
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In his statement Mr Bolland has contradicted the Prince’s assertion that his views on China were private and confidential. In 1999 the Prince showed his contempt for China’s human rights record by staying away from the state banquet held in honour of the Queen at the Chinese Embassy during President Jiang’s visit to Britain. He also refused to accompany Mr Jiang on any official visits.
Mr Bolland, in his statement, confirmed that he had been ordered to leak details of the boycott to the press. The Prince’s instruction was to create as much “drama” as possible.
Mr Bolland resigned from the Palace in 2003 after clashes with Sir Michael Peat, the Prince’s private secretary.
Last night Mr Bolland declined to comment, but a legal source said of the Prince’s decision to go to court: “It’s madness. Anyone who knows the Prince will know his trenchant views on the Chinese Government and the handover to Hong Kong.”
Clarence House said that the Prince had reluctantly decided to sue after being advised by his lawyers that the newspaper had breached his copyright and confidentiality.
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BOLLAND AND THE PRINCE