--- description: Prince Charles acknowledged that he would have to operate within "constitutional parameters" upon acceding to the throne title: Prince Charles will speak out when he becomes king image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e2baf5e694322b0/69893e95457a5272b8d5fd3f/gettyimages-1056717146.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [United Kindgom](/tag/united-kindgom/) ## United Kindgom Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 'I'm Not That Stupid.' Prince Charles Says He Won't Be a 'Meddling' King by [George Steer](/author/george-steer/) ## George Steer Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 8, 2018 1:04 PM CUT  Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall attend an Art, Music, Dance and Youth Exhibition in Jamestown on Nov. 3, 2018 in Accra, Ghana. Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall attend an Art, Music, Dance and Youth Exhibition in Jamestown on Nov. 3, 2018 in Accra, Ghana.Getty Images by [George Steer](/author/george-steer/) ## George Steer Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 8, 2018 1:04 PM CUT Prince Charles has said that he will refrain from speaking his mind on political issues he has championed in the past when he succeeds Queen Elizabeth II as monarch. In Britain, the head of state must remain strictly neutral with respect to political matters, and Prince Charles acknowledged that he would have to operate within “constitutional parameters” upon acceding to the throne. The heir to the British throne has regularly aired passionate views on such issues as architecture, GM crops and climate change, in public and in private correspondence. But in an [interview with the BBC](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-46133114 "undefined"), the Prince of Wales was quick to play down any concerns that he would continue to do so as king, saying “I’m not that stupid”. In the interview, filmed for a documentary to mark his [70th birthday](http://content.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1857874%5F1795896,00.html "undefined") on Nov.14, Prince Charles was asked what he thought of accusations that his campaigning amounted to “meddling.” “If it’s meddling to worry about the inner cities as I did 40 years ago, then if that’s meddling I’m proud of it,” he said. “The idea, somehow, that I’m going to go on in exactly the same way, if I have to succeed \[the Queen\], is complete nonsense,” he added. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5448961/prince-charles-campaigning-king/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5448961/prince-charles-campaigning-king/"},"headline":"'I'm Not That Stupid.' Prince Charles Says He Won't Be a 'Meddling' King","datePublished":"2018-11-08T13:04:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T21:59:07.533Z","description":"“The idea, somehow, that I'm going to go on in exactly the same way, if I have to succeed [the Queen], is complete nonsense”","url":"https://time.com/5448961/prince-charles-campaigning-king/","keywords":["United Kindgom"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e2baf5e694322b0/69893e95457a5272b8d5fd3f/gettyimages-1056717146.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"George Steer","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/george-steer/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e2baf5e694322b0/69893e95457a5272b8d5fd3f/gettyimages-1056717146.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The Prince Of Wales And Duchess Of Cornwall Visit Ghana","caption":"The Prince Of Wales And Duchess Of Cornwall Visit Ghana","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/united-kindgom/","name":"United Kindgom"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5448961/prince-charles-campaigning-king/","name":"'I'm Not That Stupid.' Prince Charles Says He Won't Be a 'Meddling' King"}}]}] ```